Dun' You Worry
by erin boriiss
Summary: hm...this is just the basic romance story...i sort of tortured Tsukushi (hehe whoops)...please...please...please!! read this and review!! please (begging on her knees)
1. trouble brews

This is my fanfic regarding the anime Hana Yori Dango, or otherwise known as Meteor Garden. I love the manga because the characters are realistic, and because the characters are unique and they each possess their own unique traits.  
  
"You're kidding me," Yuuki said incredulously. She stood beside Makino Tsukushi in the Dango shop that the two of them worked in. Yuuki and Makino had been friends since junior high, and now, in high school, they remained friends. Makino shook her head and smiled softly.  
  
"You make it sound like it's impossible," Tsukushi said. She pulled back her long sleeved shirt and showed Yuuki the mark made by the injection that was inserted into her forearm. Yuuki sucked in her breath.  
  
"Wow, Makino. You really should tell your parents. It's not good to keep this to yourself."  
  
Tsukushi gave a laugh. "It's nothing serious. I fainted in PE class and then I was taken to the clinic. It turns out that I have some stomach virus. It's nothing to worry about. Most likely, my mom will just scold me for not eating well. Besides. Its going to pass over soon."  
  
"You always say things like that," Yuuki said. She pointed to a rice cake that was on display. It was a rice ball with green seaweed wrapping and sesame balls. It was laid on a bamboo tray attractively, set off with small amounts of petals. "So are you still allowed to eat those kinds of things?"  
  
"Yeah. Oh come on, the only thing that's going to happen is the medicine's going to make me dizzy and really tired."  
  
"Hm.and you're still going to try to work double shifts to cover up the costs of the medicine? Are you sure that you can just treat yourself like this? You need to tell your parents!"  
  
Tsukushi smiled. "Trust me. This isn't going to be something serious."  
  
Yuuki smiled tentatively. "If you say so, Tsukushi. Listen, its six thirty PM. Normally, that would mean that our shifts are over, but I guess you're going to staying here until ten. Take care of yourself, Makino."  
  
***  
  
Tsukasa Doumyouji sat on the bed in his large room. The room was extremely large, second only to the master's suite. It had it's own bathroom, comfort room, refrigerator, phone line, laptop, all the latest game consoles, all the games that ever came out in the Japanese market and on the foreign markets, and several other gadgets and toys.  
  
Doumyouji sighed and plopped back on the covers on his back. He stared listlessly at the ceiling. None of the things in his room appealed to him. Even with the army of servants and the wondrous collection of electronics the house had an empty feeling to it.  
  
"You're not being a very good host here," Hanazawa Rui complained. He was lounging on the overstuffed couch and pressing into his Do Co Mo mobile phone to be picked up from the house. Doumyouji ignored his friend. "Rui, you're not helping me here. Neither Soujiro nor Akira are willing to help my cause here."  
  
Rui glanced at Doumyouji with boredom written all over his face. Doumyouji turned red.  
  
"Hey! That Tsukushi just annoys me! Just looking at her face makes me sick! She thinks that she can stand up to the F4! She's dead wrong."  
  
Doumyouji didn't mention the real reason why he wanted to hurt her some more. It was like a way to prove to himself that he didn't have any feelings whatsoever for the girl. She was a poor person, and he was a rich young man, the kind of man that grew up to be a politician. Rui looked away from Doumyouji and out the window, and said nothing.  
  
"What're you thinking?" Doumyouji stood up and abruptly changed the topics, stretching his arms high over his head. He walked over to where Rui sat. They both looked out the window.  
  
"You act like a kid, Doumyouji," Rui said, without looking at him. "If you're just going to keep talking about torturing Makino Tsukushi, then I'm waiting downstairs in the lounge."  
  
Rui got up and started to walk out. Doumyouji grabbed his arm. Suddenly he was dead serious.  
  
"Hey, Rui." His voice left no room for jokes. "When you saved Makino the other day in the lunchroom, did that mean that you had feelings for her?"  
  
Rui didn't look back. If it were any other person asking, then that person would have been completely ignored. But Doumyouji had been his friend since childhood, and together with the rest of the F4, they had learned to care for each other. He deserved an answer. Rui ran a hand through his hair.  
  
"That didn't mean anything, Tsukasa. The show was ruining Shizuka's lunch."  
  
(For those who do not read the manga or have no access to the translations, its like this: Doumyouji was able to turn the whole student body against Makino and her childhood friend, Kazuya. The two ran into the college lunchroom to escape from the mob of students, but in the end, were caught anyway. They were about to be beaten up when Rui jumped in to save them. ^_^)  
  
Rui stalked out, the both of them knowing that Rui was lying in some sense.  
  
*** "Unh." Tsukushi woke up, her head pounding. She put a hand to her forehead and realized that she had a slight fever.  
  
"Are you okay?" Her mother's face popped up from over her futon. Tsukushi sprang up.  
  
"Uh, yeah!" she said. She didn't want her mother to become suspicious in any way of her medicine side effects.  
  
Her mother put a hand to her daughter's forehead.  
  
"You're sick! Was it something you ate?! We have to buy medicine now!" Makino took a look at her mother and saw the yen figures flashing through her eyes. Makino shook her head and forced a laugh.  
  
"Yeah, mom it was something I ate.It's nothing, I have to go to school. There's a quiz today in History."  
  
When she arrived in school, her headache and fever had disappeared. It was a Monday.  
  
"Tsukushi! Tsukushi!" she turned around. It was Kazuya chasing her. she hadn't even noticed.  
  
"I've been calling you since you came through the gate," Kazuya said breathlessly. "You didn't hear me?"  
  
She gave a smile. "Sorry.I have other things on my mind."  
  
"Like what?"  
  
"Like why I didn't study for the history exam. Argh! I knew we had a test, but I was too tired last night to open any of my notebooks!"  
  
"What did you do last night that made you so tired?"  
  
"I'm working double part time shifts in the dango shop."  
  
"Double shifts!" Kazuya turned to her. "Are you crazy? You wont be able to take that.its going to be hard for you to catch up on schoolwork then!"  
  
Makino laughed. "You worry too much, Kazuya. Be a man!" she socked him playfully in the back. She didn't notice how his eyes darkened at the last sentence. By that time, they had reached their classroom. Makino went inside, and the first thing she noticed was that her desk was gone.  
  
Now this surprised her, because the F4 had pretty much been leaving her alone nowadays. The same thing had only happened once before, when the F4 had first worked against her, but now it had happened again. Her classmates were giving her a cold look. All of a sudden, Makino felt like she was back in the beginning of the school year, when she had first made herself the enemy of the F4.  
  
"What happened to your desk?" Kazuya asked.  
  
Tsukushi faced a classmate. "Kara, where's my table?" The shy girl turned away coldly, as if she hadn't heard anything. Makino felt her anger building up.  
  
"What happened to my table?!" she said loudly, half shouting in the classroom. She was completely ignored. All her classmates turned her way, their faces showing disgust or distaste.  
  
"You're too loud!" Someone said. "Shut up will you!"  
  
Tsukushi was taken aback. Kazuya didn't stand up for her, but she didn't expect him to. Kazuya was sort of a wimp compared to any other guy. Instead, he just stayed behind her.  
  
"Hey, my desk is gone, and I just want to know where it is!" she said again, her initial surprised giving way to anger.  
  
"Shut up! If all you do is complain, then get out of here! And bring your stupid friend with you!"  
  
"Hey! I have a right to-"  
  
Her eyes opened wide in as she felt the tennis ball hit her on the side of her face. She took a step back, holding her right cheek. From the floor, she looked up in surprise, the information not really processing in her brain.  
  
Her classmates were laughing. Her eyes went to Makiko, her 'friend' in the beginning of the year, and Makiko looked away from her gaze. Kazuya, in a rare show of bravery, stepped in front of her. Tsukushi crouched and got the tennis ball, and she looked up again.  
  
"That's mine." The guy said, grinning, as he folded his arms in front of his chest. "Tsukasa Doumyouji gave that to me. Have you heard of him? Huh? He's from the F4."  
  
Makino lifted her arm behind her, and was about to swing it.And another ball hit her, this time on her arm, past Kazuya's body. The two balls fell to the floor uselessly. The first blow had been harder than the first, and the second one was only on her arm, but what made her want to cry was the hatred and disgust she felt was thrown her way.  
  
But she held her chin up high and faced the class. They were looking at her with barely concealed expecation. Their faces were free of guilt, as if they took joy in hazing poor students. Their smirking faces met hers.  
  
Unable to stare them in the eye, she turned her gaze away, and ran down the hall.  
  
"Tsukushi-!" Kazuya ran after her. Tsukushi was running blindly, going where her feet led her. She was a fast runner, and Kazuya was soon lost on her trail. Makino saw in front of her double doors, and she rammed through them without hesitation, welcoming the sunlight on her face. She tried to breathe.  
  
She opened her eyes and looked at the sunlight, but found that her eyes were blurry. The feeling of helplessness and frustration built up from the memories from the month before, and because she knew she was going to have to work hard all over again to gain back at least some of the respect that she had been able to achieve over the months.  
  
"What are you doing here?" A familiar cold voice entered her brain.  
  
She turned to the direction of the voice, and Hanazawa Rui came into her line of focus. She had run to THE emergency staircase without realizing it. She got her mouth to work.  
  
"This is all your fault,." she said. "This is all because of what you and your stupid F4."  
  
She pretended she hadn't been crying, and she turned away to go back inside the school building. 


	2. i might be dying

"What do you mean I did something to her?" Doumyouji asked arrogantly. It was after school, and he had been in his house when Rui came poking around the estate gates.  
  
"Open the gate so that he can come inside!" Doumyouji barked to the security guard, so that Rui could come in.  
  
The gate opened, but Rui regarded Doumyouji coldly.  
  
"Yes, I just told a couple of people to spread the rumor that Makino recently fooled around with Mr. Kang, their Chemistry teacher."  
  
Doumyouji laughed at his ingeniousness. "It worked pretty well, if I do say so myself."  
  
"Well, tomorrow, you can spread the rumor that it was completely false, too."  
  
Doumyouji's smile slipped from its place. "Why would I do something like that.No.Don't tell me you actually feel sorry for her! She's just a poor, stupid girl!" Rui didn't say anything. "If you don't say anything about it tomorrow, then I'll spread the rumor myself."  
  
Doumyouji drew in a deep breath, and took a look at his large garden, and high metal gates. His gaze drew back to Rui, and then to the person behind him.  
  
"Speak of the devil," he said. Rui turned around, and came face to face with Makino Tsukushi. She seemed to be in a hurry, but determined as well. The side of her face was slightly purple.  
  
"Doumyouji! I want to talk to you!" she shouted at him. The gates were still open, so she went through. The guard didn't stop her when his master didn't seem overly concerned.  
  
Doumyouji looked at her without much interest.  
  
"What is it this time? It's no use begging for mercy."  
  
Tsukushi stopped in front of him, her arms shaking from vexation. From behind her, Rui said without much interest:  
  
"Tsukasa, remember what I said. I'm going home."  
  
Makino whirled on him. "No! You stay here, too!"  
  
"I don't need to take you seriously."  
  
Doumyouji smirked. "Should I call Soujiro and Akira, too?"  
  
Makino was still hurt from Rui's last statement. He was already starting to walk away.  
  
"Why-"  
  
Rui stopped, and Doumyouji stopped his mockery.  
  
"Why do the four of you hate me so much?!"  
  
Makino said in a barely controlled voice.  
  
"Why do the four of you try your best to make my life so miserable?! You're a bunch of overgrown losers!" Makino stopped. There was a strange sound...Someone was laughing. It was Rui. He was running his hand through his hair and laughing.  
  
"Tsukushi, go home. We don't make your life miserable. That's because it already is like that. Look at you! Who would take someone like you seriously?"  
  
He walked away, while Makino stood there, her mouth slightly open, her arms hanging limply at her sides. Leave it to Rui to say something completely hurting like that. Was it true that nobody took her seriously.?  
  
She didn't realize that the hurt was showing clearly in her eyes. Doumyouji saw it and knew that he should have been happy, but he wasn't. He was furious, not with Makino, but with Rui. Makino turned back to Tsukasa, deciding she might as well tell him off now that Rui was gone.  
  
"Tell me what you did," Makino said to him. But the fire was gone from her argument. She was trying to puff in a little fire back into her, but she couldn't. Rui was the only one who could hurt her so much with words like that because he was the only one she cared about enough to let him hurt her.  
  
Doumyouji shuffled his feet, and grew serious. He honestly didn't know what to say. The easiest option was to...  
  
"Go away, Makino. Tomorrow, you're going to return to your loser-y life. I'll stop the rumor."  
  
"The rumor? What rumor?!"  
  
Makino made a grab for him. She held on to his white t-shirt.  
  
"Wait! What rumor?!"  
  
"Guard! Show her out of here!"  
  
Makino felt the police grab her arm to pull her backwards, outside the gate, but she didn't care. She was too busy shouting at Doumyouji some of the names that she had in her mind.  
  
"D-Doumyouji!"  
  
The gate locked in front of her. she watched his retreating back, and her hands fell from the metal bars. Her eyes fell on her watch, and her eyes boggled. She was thirty minutes late for her dango job!  
  
She ran all the way to the shop, and when she arrived, Yuuki was already there, behind the counter, in her uniform kimono.  
  
Makino ran to the back room to change as well. When he went out, the manager was there, frowning at her.  
  
"I'm so sorry!" Makino said hurriedly, explaining that there was something important that she had to attend to. The manager continued to frown at her, and Yuuki was acting like she didn't notice anything was happening.  
  
"That's fourth time from today and last week. Makino Tsukushi, what's wrong with you? Yesterday you fell asleep on the job, towards the midnight shift."  
  
"That's because of my medicine! I'm sorry, Mrs. Fukagawa! Please, just give me one more chance! I wont blow it, please."  
  
Mrs. Fukagawa looked at her sadly, her frown replaced with a kindly smile.  
  
"Yes, Mrs. Fukagawa, please, give her another chance!" Yuuki's plead came from the other part of the counter. Mrs. Fukagawa's eyes narrowed slightly.  
  
"After tonight you'll receive your payment for this month. Goodbye, Makino."  
  
Mrs. Fukagawa continued shining the counter tops.  
  
***  
  
"Makino! You really should finish that sardines piece!" Her mother was, as usual, dominating the dinner table, waving her chopsticks around. "Susumo! That bowl of rice is the seventh highest quality rice in the whole market!"  
  
Makino didn't mention that there were only eight types of rice, and the last type was the rice made for pudding. She moved the sardines around in her bowl in distaste, not wanting to eat any of it.  
  
"And Makino-! Why didn't you say anything sooner about being fired from that Dango shop? Now what do we do? Your wages were the money we used to buy our water supply!"  
  
Makino stood up from the traditional Japanese eating table, and finished up her chopsticks.  
  
"Mom, Dad, don't worry. There's this supermarket slot in Shinjiku, and I just applied tonight after work. They were looking for a job, and I think I was able to get it."  
  
"What time is the work shift?"  
  
"Three to eleven."  
  
"What?! Double shifts?! How are you going to keep up on your grades?"  
  
"Mom! Don't worry about it! I can study at the same time! Trust me!"  
  
***  
  
THREE WEEKS LATER  
  
"Tsukushi." Mr. Kou, her homeroom advisor, called. It was the end of homeroom, and everyone was already on their way to PE class. Makino went up to him.  
  
"Yes, Mr. Kou?"  
  
"Tsukushi, about your grades. if they continue to be the way they are right now, then you're going to lose your scholarship."  
  
It took her a while to process the words. She had heard them, and had seen his mouth move, but it took her a while to get their meaning. She was bleary eyed, and she had been lacking sleep since the week before. Her stomach problem, if anything, was getting worse. She put her hands on his table.  
  
"Mr. Kou.If this has anything to do with the F4, then please! Reconsider. I'll talk to them. Those bastards cant kick me out of this school, not this way!"  
  
"Ms. Tsukushi!" Mr. Kou shook his head and pulled out a folder from his desk. "It's not the work of any other person! Look at this!" he opened the folder and let her take a look. Makino saw that indeed the grades she was getting were inching towards below what she needed to keep up her scholarship.  
  
"I.I'll improve my grades!" Makino said, starting to panic. Mr. Kou adjusted his eyeglasses.  
  
"Well.you see.that might be a problem. If only you had money."  
  
Makino stared at him in disgust.  
  
"I don't have any money. I can't bribe you.sorry, Mr. Kou. Just wait.my grades will improve."  
  
THE NEXT DAY, AFTER RETURNING HOME FROM WORK  
  
"Makino! Explain!" It was eleven thirty in the night. Makino had come home, her eyesight blurred, and her stomach aching despite having eaten a large snack.  
  
"What, ma? What, pa? What's there to explain?" Her mother and father looked at each other.  
  
"Makino! Mr. Kou called us today! Is it true that you might lose that part scholarship of yours?!"  
  
Makino, too tired to argue, nodded. "Yes, ma. Now, can I go to sleep?"  
  
"NO!" Her mother said. "What am I going to tell my colleagues? It's too late to transfer you to another school, and even if we did that, our family cant take the financial strain!"  
  
"I'm tired!" Makino half shouted, her head now pounding with a headache. "Ma, let me sleep."  
  
She stood up and went to her room. She looked for the bottle of medicine that had been prescribed by the school nurse, and drank her dose for the day. The bottle was almost empty, and she knew that she was going to have to buy a new bottle soon. It was an expensive medicine, although it didn't seem to work at all.  
  
She looked at her futon, wishing she could lie down, but then forced herself to get her schoolbag.  
  
She turned on her school lamp and started studying for the three quizzes the next day.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Kazuya laughed, and so did Makino.  
  
"And he said.Don't tell him that he's eating a poisoned kryptonite- filled pure poison toxic substance, and not apple pie!" Makino finished, coming to the end of the joke. The two of them keeled over, laughing. They were sitting under the tree. It was lunch time.  
  
"Doesn't that annoy you? The two of them acting like they know each other so well."  
  
Doumyouji shook his head in annoyance. The F4 were eating on a blanket on the school's field, and they all just happened to have a great view of Tsukushi's and Kazuya's backs.  
  
Nishikado shrugged. "It's you who's letting it all get to you."  
  
Their gazes went to Kazuya, who was telling another funny experience.  
  
".And he said! Stop! Or I'll shoot!" The two started laughing all over again.  
  
"Wait. I'll go get us some sodas. My treat." Kazuya stood up and sped off. From where he sat, Doumyouji stood up. He made his way to Makino. It had been some time since he had last talked to her, and now, he wasn't sure what he wanted to say.  
  
Makino looked up in surprise, and when she saw his face, she immediately looked down again. Doumyouji was taken aback. When she had looked up, he had seen there something that made him worried. Her eyebags were huge, and her eyes were tired. Her hair was even messier than usual, not anymore in their neat pigtail braids, but now in a low ponytail. She was pale and sweating. He crouched.  
  
"Hey, what's wrong with you?" He asked, making his voice rough to hide his sudden concern. He couldn't explain why he was anxious; all he knew was that he was.  
  
Makino stopped eating from her bento lunchbox. She looked at him.  
  
"There's nothing wrong with me, so don't feel so good about yourself," she said. She started packing her lunch and Kazuya's lunch.  
  
"That's too bad," Doumyouji said meanly, inwardly relieved. He stood up, and so did Makino. The two of them stood face to face.  
  
"Hey," Doumyouji started, then stopped abruptly. Makino's body grew limp, and the two bags fell from her hands. Her eyes rolled up in her head, and she fell forward. Doumyouji caught her.  
  
He looked around in panic.  
  
"Nishikado! Rui! Akira! Help me here!"  
  
FIVE HOURS LATER  
  
Makino woke up, and saw that she was in the clinic's office in her school. She tried to remember what had happened, but as far as she went was up to the part where she was talking to Doumyouji. She turned to the nurse.  
  
"Ms. Jinsai, what time is it?"  
  
Ms. Jinsai looked up from her chart. Ms. Jinsai was a plump woman in her late thirties, pale and dark haired, as if she didn't go out often. She looked at her watch.  
  
"Almost six PM."  
  
Makino sighed. She was going to be fired from her grocery job. She had been warned from the beginning that once she was late, she was going to be fired immediately. There was no room for 'lazy' workers. Only at that moment did she realize that she was breathing heavily.  
  
She sat up to breathe better, and looked at the mirror in front of the bed. She couldn't believe her reflection. Her skin was pasty, looking even more pale in the clinic gown, and her dark brown hair was messy and uncombed.  
  
Her lips were pale and her eyebags were huge. She looked as if she hadn't slept in a week. She was perspiring. Ms. Jensai was looking at her in concern.  
  
"I think.Makino.I think you'd better tell your parents about this. I think I misdiagnosed your stomach problem. I'm going to call your parents."  
  
Makino's mind raced. "Wait-" she said quickly. "I'll tell them myself. Don't worry."  
  
Ms. Jinsai hesitated, and then nodded. She gave Makino a business card. "This is my friend from high school. She's a doctor now, in Chong Hua Hospital. I called her earlier to ask if she could test your blood. She took a sample an hour ago."  
  
Makino nodded. "Do I have to pay for that?"  
  
Ms. Jinsai shook her head. "Don't worry about it. Now go on home and get some rest. My doctor friend will call you tonight. I wanted you to get the results as soon as possible so that you can decide what to do about it."  
  
Makino nodded. She slipped away from the clinic bed. Her head felt as if someone was hacking through it using an ice pick. She bit her lip to keep from crying. The moment passed, and the pain subsided to a more bearable level. She took the aspirin Ms. Jinsai gave her.  
  
"Kazuya!" she said in surprise. Her friend sat down in the dark hallway, his book bag beside him. He looked at her.  
  
"Makino, you look horrible," he kidded her with concern. He stood up to walk beside her, reaching only a little more taller than her.  
  
"You should be home by now." Kazuya shook his head.  
  
"I wanted to see if you were okay."  
  
Makino smiled. "That's nice."  
  
"Makino." Kazuya stopped in his tracks.  
  
"What?" Makino also stopped walking.  
  
"Makino, I like you a lot."  
  
Makino stared at him.  
  
"Do can we...go out sometime?"  
  
She was speechless. It was completely unexpected. She opened her mouth to speak.  
  
"Tsukushi!" she whirled on the voice behind her, glad for the interruption, until she saw who it was. Doumyouji was walked towards her, his face dark.  
  
"What happened to you?" Doumyouji demanded, stopping in front of her. "You just fell as if you were going to die. Everyone was staring! I had to bring you to the clinic."  
  
Makino stared at him, and realized that she didn't know what to say. Doumyouji had just admitted that he was the one who had brought her to the clinic when she fainted, and not Kazuya.  
  
'Hey, we're in the middle of something here!" Kazuya said loudly in an annoyed voice. The two of them turned to look at him.  
  
He was looking at Doumyouji in annoyance, and then his gaze shifted to Makino. To her surprise, she realized that she could not hold his glance. His confession had changed something between them and made her uncomfortable.  
  
"Thank you for what you did, then." Makino said it hurriedly, not used to thanking someone like Tsukasa Doumyouji. He laughed arrogantly.  
  
"I saved you! You owe me one! Come on, working class girl, I don't want to, but I'll give you a ride home!"  
  
Tsukushi hesitated. If it were any other situation, she would have refused him directly. But if she didn't go with him now, that would mean that she would be stuck with Kazuya. As of the moment, she wasn't sure how she felt about him, and that was making her uncomfortable. She followed Doumyouji, who was walking out the building.  
  
"Wait-Tsukushi!" she pretended not to hear Kazuya calling her, and she plopped in Doumyouji's limousine. The driver immediately perked up. He looked like he had been waiting a long time. His shoulders sagged, and he was tired.  
  
"Where do you live?" Doumyouji asked Makino. She told him.  
  
The limo pulled away, and Makino watched Kazuya run after the car for a short while. Then he stopped. He pulled something out of his bag, and there, he held the two cans of soda from that afternoon.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"You live here?" Doumyouji asked as they pulled up in front of her house. When she didn't answer, he looked at her, and saw that she was sleeping. Something about the way she looked, pale and ragged, made him worried. He put his thoughts aside.  
  
He shook her awake.  
  
"Hey, don't drool on the leather like that. This leather is from Africa!"  
  
Makino sat up, dazed. "Thanks for the ride."  
  
".Listen," Doumyouji said. "Take care of yourself."  
  
Makino nodded and went out of the limo, feeling the cold air hit her skin. As soon as she entered the house, the phone rang. Since she happened to be in front of the phone, she picked it up.  
  
"Tsukushi residence."  
  
"Hello, may I please speak to Makino Tsukushi?"  
  
Makino paused. She couldn't recognize the voice.  
  
"Speaking. I'm sorry, who's this?"  
  
"This is Doctor Sakura Yabu. Makino, I've just run a quick test of your blood sample, and you have a stomach infection that has spread to your liver and might be developing into cancer. Give the phone to your parents. I have to explain a couple of things to them."  
  
TWO DAYS LATER  
  
"Tsukushi, this is your last warning," Mr. Kou had said testily. "If next week, you don't get at least a ninety five in your final exam, you're going to forfeit the scholarship."  
  
"Tsukushi, you'd better get a new job. now that we have to worry about your medical bills.we cant afford another week's dinner.We cant even send you to the hospital now." her mother had said the night before.  
  
"Tsukushi, this might sound strange to you, but me and your mother are thinking of moving to a fishing village near Hokkaido. It will be more easier to make a living there," he father had said.  
  
"Tsukushi", are you avoiding me? Was it that thing I said two days ago, when I told you I liked you? Fine! If you're going to keep ignoring me, then I'll go leave you alone now!" Kazuya had said.  
  
"Tsukushi .I know the F4 aren't bothering you as much as before, but I really think we should stop talking to each other.Our classmates are talking about me behind my back.I'm sorry, it makes me nervous," Makiko had said.  
  
"Tsukushi, if you don't watch your stress level, the infection is going to act up again, and its going to develop into something worse," Doctor Yabu had said.  
  
Tsukushi wasn't paying attention to her surroundings anymore. She was detached from everything. After school, she wandered around the campus, and her feet led her yet again to the emergency stairs. She hesitated only a moment, then opened it.  
  
Rui looked at her from the stairs. He was wearing a sweater, and jeans.  
  
"What are you doing here?" he said automatically.  
  
Makino smiled wryly. Rui watched her. She looked pale and serious, but that was all there was to how she looked. There was no underlying emotion. That made him curious, so when she squatted down next to him, he didn't say anything like he would have done any other day.  
  
"Hanazawa Rui," she started. "This sounds stupid, but someone I know feels like her life is falling apart. Literally.she's-"  
  
Rui's eyes started to close. This was a self-pity session. He didn't like hearing people talk about themselves like that. Besides, whatever it was she was going through, she could most definitely handle it. He leaned back.  
  
"Can you talk to someone else? You're destroying the peaceful atmosphere around here."  
  
Makino stopped mid-sentence. She looked around a little.  
  
"What peaceful atmosphere?" she asked softly. She looked away from his face. She really did care about him in a way she herself couldn't explain, and to hear him talk to her like that hurt her deeply.  
  
"Rui...I might... lose this scholarship. my family can't take the financial strain anymore..." she started to choke on her words.  
  
"Is that what you're worried about? That's fine, but...I'm not interested in other people's problems."  
  
Makino kept her eyes shaded to hide the hurt. "Wait...that time in the cafeteria, when you saved me and Kazuya-kun.why did you go and do that?"  
  
Inside, she begged him to tell her that he did it because he cared about her. He looked at her with emotionless eyes.  
  
"You were so loud. You were destroying Shizuka's lunch. I didn't do it for you; so don't misunderstand what I did. I would never do something like that for you."  
  
Tsukushi's heart skipped a beat. Several beats, in fact. She started to stand. Her eyes were empty. She knew that if it were a month ago, she would have been screaming at him insults, but now, she just felt tired and drained. Aside from everything that was happening already, now the guy she liked had just told her that she was worthless to him.  
  
"Come on, Tsukushi. What brought you here? What's so wrong that you need to tell someone about it?" Rui asked.  
  
Makino turned away to enter the school building.  
  
"Hanazawa Rui," she said bitterly. "I might be dying." 


	3. rui: strange feeling

Makino fiddled around with her Do Co Mo cellphone in the hospital, humming to herself nervously. She was there for another blood test, and she had come by herself. Her parents couldn't afford to take some time off their jobs as chief clerks, and Susumo was in school. She should have been in school as well, but Doctor Yabu was a very busy woman.  
  
It had been a few days since she had talked to Rui or Kazuya. School was a lonely and frustrating place, and she usually just dragged herself to go there everyday when she knew that she was just going to sit by herself again during lunch, or she was going to ignore the stares of her classmates and some people from the batch level above her. She went completely out of her way to avoid the F4. If before, she disliked them greatly, now she loathed them, their arrogance and the way they treated others. But, in her secret heart, she knew it was just because Hanazawa Rui had managed to hurt her yet again.  
  
"Makino, come in here for a moment," Doctor Yabu said from her office.  
  
Makino stood up and entered. It was a small, neat office with a large panel window behind the dark wooden desk. Makino mumbled a polite good morning, dreading what was going to come. All of a sudden, she wished that her parents were with her, or anyone for that matter. Even if it was someone like Doumyouji, she wanted someone to hear the news with her, and be sad with her if it turned out to be sad, and happy with her if the news was great.  
  
'Listen, Makino. Your liver and stomach are infected with this viral infection, and it already begun in your pancreas. This might seem a little far off, but I'm worried this will develop into cancer. (I dunno what kind of cancer.basta cancer, it sounds deadly) This is a rare disease, very rare in these parts of Japan, so it would be sort of difficult to gain access to the medicine. I've checked my contacts on the internet.. and they're willing to send the medicine via airmail. They're giving you a discount, Tsukushi."  
  
Makino felt sick at the description of her problem, but she forced her brain to function. When she could speak again, her tongue felt thick, as if she needed to gargle with mouthwash.  
  
"So..How much am I supposed to pay?"  
  
Doctor Yabu shifted nervously in her seat.  
  
"Eh..I know your family is in a financial crisis right now, but..the most I could bargain...They're asking for nine hundred fifty thousand yen."  
  
Makino's eyes began to close. A million yen...There was no way in the world her family could afford that kind of money. And the banks around those parts of Tokyo wouldn't lend money for that kind of reason alone, and besides, even if her parents worked double shifts for a year, they would still need to pay for the rest of the bills and payments around the house.  
  
"Makino...listen." Doctor Yabu's voice was urgent. "You need this medicine as soon as possible. The shipment will arrive here in a week...and the medicine I have is almost useless compared to what you need right now...please... just have the money in a week..."  
  
Makino was silent. Then she looked up and nodded, knowing that there was no way her parents could ask for a bank loan, and even if their application did get accepted, it would take at least three weeks for the papers to be processed. Their bank savings must consist of only fifty thousand yen by now. There were so many things to worry about, especially about how they'd get enough money for Susumo's tuition fee. He wasn't smart like her, and he couldn't hold up a scholarship if his life depended on it. She had no relatives that she knew of, in Japan or abroad.  
  
She smiled. "Doctor Yabu, thank you for your time..."  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Tsukushi walked towards Eitoku Escalator Academy, dragging her feet. She didn't really see the point anymore of going to school anymore. She didn't want to study, and she had a hard time avoiding Kazuya and Rui. She stopped, and tilted back her head to gaze at the building before her. The building was still a fresh white color, as if it had never withstood against rain or snow.  
  
Tsukushi sighed, and pitched her schoolbag higher up her shoulder. She didn't know how she was going to tell her parents what the cost of the medicine was. And even if she did manage to scrounge enough money to pay for the bills, he wondered how many things in her scarce material world she would have to give up anyway. She started walking again, her eyes looking at her surroundings. She felt like she was trapped in a high school nightmare. Eitoku Academy loomed in her line of vision again, and she wondered if she would ever fit in. she was already second year high school, but there was still college that she would have to worry about.  
  
She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn't notice that there was someone standing at the school gates. A cool figure, leaning against the metal railing, the cold chill in the air didn't seem to affect him. His sweater moved slightly in the breeze. His blue eyes followed her figure as she passed by him as if she never saw him before in her life.  
  
He hesitated, then began walking after her.  
  
"Makino Tsukushi," he said. She stopped abruptly, and turned around to face him. He caught up with her, and the two of them started walking again. she didn't seem to want to say anything, but Rui felt that she was gaining strength from him just being there beside her.  
  
"Tsukushi," Rui said. "Are you really dying?"  
  
Makino didn't stop walking, she just kept staring soulfully at her surroundings, and Rui wondered if he was going to have to repeat the question a second time for him to get an answer.  
  
"You're late for class. I know you don't usually go to your classroom anyway, but don't take your place here for granted."  
  
Her voice was thoughtful.  
  
"Are you dying?"  
  
Up to this time, Tsukushi had been dealing with her problems quite well. She had kept to herself, knowing that if she actually spilled them out, she'd lose control and go wild. But the hear someone ask her if she was going to die, with such brutal frankness...Reality started closing in on her, making her seem suffocated. But...the calm presence beside her made everything easier. She took a deep breath, and then laughed softly.  
  
"What would it matter to you?"  
  
By this time, the two had reached the entrance of the school building. Makino walked in the direction of her classroom. Rui didn't answer.  
  
"Yes," Tsukushi said softly. "Exactly. It doesn't mean anything. That's why I should humor you. I think I AM going to die, Rui. I'm going to grow old and wrinkled. THEN I'm going to die. Or I can get hit by a car, beaten to a pulp, it doesn't matter. Or maybe I'll die of some stomach infection."  
  
She looked ahead, seemingly serene, but inside, she was a complete mess. Rui said nothing. She wasn't answering his question. He wanted to help her, he really did, but he couldn't bring himself to ask her. He knew that she had her pride, and she would most likely refuse his help than accept it.  
  
"Listen, Makino-"  
  
"Rui! There you are!" A voice came bounding up from the nearby stairs. "Class turned out to be boring...Why don't we get some lunch?"  
  
Doumyouji appeared from the stairs, arrogantly. He stopped short when he saw Tsukushi.  
  
"Rui! What are you doing with that poor girl!"  
  
Her insult to throw back at him died quickly on her lips. She was simply not in the mood. She started to walk away from the two of them without a word. Someone grabbed her arm. She looked back in surprise, and she saw Rui holding on to her wrist. Tsukushi stuck out her chin a little and tried to pull out of his grip.  
  
"What?"  
  
"I want to talk to you."  
  
"...What's there to talk about?"  
  
She pulled back her arm, and walked quickly away. From his standing point, Rui actually considered going after her. It would have been completely uncharacteristic of him, but something about her... When she had told him that she might be dying, that day at the emergency stairs, a strange sort of fear had crept up inside him. He didn't know Makino Tsukushi very well, but he knew, as well as he knew his own name, that she had the power to bother him. She had the ability to make him curious with her unpredictability and her-  
  
"Hanazawa-"  
  
Rui looked up. Tsukasa was looking at him. "I can't believe this...You like her! You like that charity case!"  
  
Rui shrugged and started to walk away in the same direction that Tsukushi had taken as well. Tsukasa grabbed his shoulder.  
  
"No Way. You're not denying it! Rui, the pride of the F4 is at stake over here! You cant go for a poor girl like that! Think about it! She's ugly! She's-"  
  
He broke of suddenly, and his eyes grew wide. The punch that had come his way was unexpected. He never would have thought that Rui would punch his best friend over some girl like Makino. Then he was angry. Of course Rui had no right to punch him! Tsukasa started to clench his fist.  
  
"Tsukasa." His getting-ready-mode was shattered. Rui took a step back.  
  
"Stop it. I'll leave her alone if she means that much to you..."  
  
"What are you talking about?! I don't like her at all! She makes me sick to my stomach!"  
  
"...And if it makes any difference to the way you feel about her..."  
  
"Shut up! You know I would never go for a poor woman like that! Besides, her body is all scrawny like a chicken's"  
  
"...she just said..."  
  
Tsukasa was losing all patience. His fist shot forward.  
  
"...she just said she might be dying."  
  
The punch landed squarely on his handsome face's jaw, and he staggered a few steps. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. Tsukasa looked dazed. Rui immediately regretted telling him. He could tell, better than anyone else, that Tsukasa liked Tsukushi and didn't have any idea that he did. The thought was sort of amusing.  
  
Tsukasa grabbed Rui by the front of his shirt.  
  
"What-What are you saying?! Why, what's wrong with her?!"  
  
Rui shrugged off his friend.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~~*~*  
  
Tsukushi returned to the Makino residence and was surprised to find that her parents were not home yet. It was six thirty in the evening, and the only person in the house was Susumo. He looked at her worriedly when he entered the house.  
  
"Onne-san..." He said, his chubby face pale. "There's a woman in the kitchen who wants to see you."  
  
Tsukushi dropped her schoolbag at the doorway and immediately went to the kitchen. A woman in her late twenties sat at the table. She had eyeglasses, and her hair was swept up from her face. She sat at the table with her business suit, looking very formal. Tsukushi had a very bad feeling at the pit of her stomach.  
  
"Are you Makino Tsukushi?" The woman asked. Tsukushi nodded numbly.  
  
"Aya Omi from the insurance agency. Your parents were involved in an accident. An onrushing truck collided with your car. They're both at the hospital right now, in critical condition."  
  
(^_^@ I have to think of ways to torture Tsukushi, so that she...Hehe, I'm not going to ruin what's going to happen later on ^_^@ But dun you no worry, everything's gonna be alright...rockabye...rockabye...) 


	4. charity case

Tsukushi ran to the train station, heading to the hospital. She could feel her life tumbling down around her. There were many other people who were taking the train as well, so she had to stand up. While she stood, she tried looking for some object to keep her eyes on to concentrate. She was a mess. Her uniform was wrinkled, and her hair tangled. She was distraught with the problems she already faced, and now she had to deal with her parent's accident, too.  
  
She was stood among the crowd, grateful that there were too many people to notice that she was in a very bad situation in life. She was only sixteen! She was still a sophomore!  
  
"Tsukushi, you didn't need to come all the way here," her mother said. She was lying on the hospital bed, a bandage around her head and around her right arm. Her face was covered with bruises. She had suffered from a concussion in the head, and her right arm would probably be useless for a long time.  
  
"Yes, you have to worry about your studies...And how do you think Susumo is doing left all alone in the house?" Her father asked from the bed beside her mother. He had less cuts, but there was a wide sash of bandages around his stomach. Two of his ribs had been broken.  
  
Tsukushi just stood there uselessly and stared at the both of them. Her mother couldn't work in her job as a section chief, and her father was having a hard time just breathing.  
  
"Ma, Pa," she started. "How are we going to get the money for the hospital bills? What about the car?"  
  
Her mother's words came slowly and slightly slurred.  
  
"The insurance company we have only shoulders half the expenses. About the rest...Tsukushi...I don't know...I really don't know..."  
  
In an uncharacteristic display of sadness and defeat, her mother closed her eyes and started to cry. Then the room became stifling. The white walls and the hot aircon and the cream hospital gowns and the smell of alcohol made her dizzy. Tsukushi forced a smile. There was only one solution. She was going to have to act like a charity case, but if it was to help her family, then she would be willing to lower her pride.  
  
"I'll be back tomorrow," Tsukushi promised the two of them as she went out of the stuffy room. Her mother continued crying as if she didn't hear anything, and her father just stared at her, pain from his ribs clouding his eyes.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"Please, Kazuya," Tsukushi said very formally. She stood in front of him. The two of them were late for homeroom class, but she didn't care. She had dragged him from his desk, and now she was cornering him in front of the lockers. The hallways were empty.  
  
Kazuya shifted. He looked at her with serious eyes. He cared about her deeply, and he knew that he would have done anything for her, but this time, he wasn't sure if it was in his power to help Tsukushi. He calculated the amount in his ATM accounts. He had just became rich recently, and he hadn't had enough time to build up his account in the bank, but he wanted desperately to help Tsukushi, not because he wanted to impress her, but because he really cared about her. And the way she was looking nowadays frightened him. Especially now. He stared at her face. He didn't seem to have gotten any sleep the night before. She was too busy worrying about her parents. Her jaw was slack, and a bleak hopelessness that was never there before radiated from her.  
  
Kazuya reached into his wallet, and pulled out the two ATM cards that he owned. Tsukushi's gaze was averted somewhere else, and he knew that it hurt her pride very deeply to accept charity. He took her hand and put the two cards there.  
  
"Tsukushi," he said. "I don't know how much money is in the both of those cards, but I'm sure that it can cover, at most, one eight of the expenses. I'll ask my parents for help tonight."  
  
Tsukushi's hand clutched the cards, and her knuckles were white. If it were any other situation where she had any other choice, she never would have considered accepting the money, not even for a second. She bowed from her waist down, very low.  
  
"Kazuya-kun," she said, trying not to choke on her words. "You know that I would never take advantage of your wealth. But-Thank you...Thank you."  
  
Kazuya cleared his throat. Usually around her, he was a merry (^_^) person, and he rarely had to be serious around her. But now, he knew he had no choice. He slung an arm over his shoulder.  
  
"Don't worry! Everything's going to be okay," he said gently, laughing, and wishing that he were taller. He was taller than Tsukushi, but nowhere near the height of someone like Tsukasa Doumyouji, or nowhere near the same build. Tsukushi nodded, and said that she needed time to think. Somewhat hurt, Kazuya went off to the classroom.  
  
Tsukushi looked at the cards, and then looked up. Her eyes were dry. At most...one eighth of the expenses. She was still lacking a little more than a million yen. And aside from the hospital bills, she was still lacking the money for her own medicine, and she had only five more days to cough up the money. She felt herself momentarily slipping down the locker, but she quickly regained her composure. She stood up again and went off to class.  
  
*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~**~~*~*~*~**~  
  
The seventeen-year old teenager glared at the girl in front of him. Tsukushi stood behind the counter of the pawn shop, trying to hold in her temper. She was feeling much better since she had taken her medicine, but the appearance of Tsukasa Doumyouji was doing wonders to make her feel sick all over again.  
  
"That ring you have is worth seventy thousand yen," she told him coldly.  
  
Tsukasa blanched.  
  
"What the hell are you talking about, idiot?! I don't have a ring! In any case I'm not here to pawn anything I have! I don't need money!"  
  
Tsukushi nodded patiently.  
  
"Are you telling me you don't want to see me your ring?" she asked with deliberate slowness and ignorance. Somehow, she felt some satisfaction in getting him riled up. She was working again, and she planned to make a good impression of herself, and then ask for an advanced payment from the boss, for at least a week, and then she'd try to get a promotion...Seek help from the internet... There were so many things to do.  
  
"I just waited in front of your poor house for the longest time- and then your brother told me you were working double shifts here in this low- class pawnshop! You cant do that!"  
  
Tsukushi looked at the clock on the wall. It read: ten fifty five. It would be five more minutes when she could finally leave the store. She hid her surprise.  
  
"You went to the house? What do you want?"  
  
Tsukasa turned red, and then serious. He pulled out something from his jacket sleeve. Tsukushi saw it clearly enough to know that it was a check. Tsukasa handed it over to her wordlessly, and she looked at the amount. It was a check for one million yen. She choked on her saliva.  
  
"D-Doumyouji," she choked. Her eyes filled with sudden tears.  
  
"I know, I know," Tsukasa said in an annoyed voice, waving his hand around. "You're ever grateful for the financial support. That should be able to take care of whatever medicine you need."  
  
But Tsukushi tore up the check in front of his face. He stopped mid- sentence.  
  
"Don't make fun of me," Tsukushi said through clenched teeth. "There's no way in the world you have access to that kind of money. Idiot!"  
  
Her shift was over. She didn't look at the clock, but she knew that she was now free to leave the pawn shop. She walked out quickly, grabbing her coat along the way outside. Her co-worker shouted out a good-bye. Tsukushi half ran out of the mall and out the dark Tokyo streets. She didn't notice that Tsukasa was following her. she only realized it when he grabbed her arm and whirled her around.  
  
"Stupid woman!" He said to her face. He pulled her to a sidewalk bench, and however much she struggled, she couldn't break free. He sat her down, and then he sat down beside her, and pulled out a check book from his jacket.  
  
Tsukushi was dazed by the angry expression on his face. Doumyouji started scribbling something in the checkbook.  
  
"Okay, stupid! That check you just tore up over there was a real check! Here-one million yen-take it! Dammit its real!"  
  
He threw the check at her. She stared at him. Tsukasa leaned back on the bench, and filled himself with pride.  
  
"Okay, now that that's settled I'll assume that you're going to be getting better," Doumyouji said.  
  
Tsukushi couldn't remember telling him about her stomach virus, but she hid her surprise. She spoke slowly.  
  
"Tsukasa-"  
  
"Don't speak my name so freely. Go with Doumyouji."  
  
"Doumyouji..." she chose her next words carefully. "Thank you so much. I promise you, someday, I'm going to pay you back. This will take care of my parents. Thank you."  
  
She half bowed to him, and ran off, while Tsukasa filled himself with pride. He hadn't heard Tsukushi's last words, and when the meaning finally registered into his brain, his eyes boggles. He hadn't been saving Tsukushi, he had saved her parents!! The idiot Rui must have gotten the wrong information, he said to himself irritable. But nevertheless, he didn't regret giving Tsukushi the money to pay for her parents. He didn't know what was happening, but he knew that he had helped Tsukushi in some way.  
  
**~*~*~*~*~~**~~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~~*  
  
Her parent's hospital bills were covered up already, and now Tsukushi was having trouble of her own. He still didn't scrounge up enough money for her viral infection. From another part in school...  
  
"Rui! You gave me the wrong information!" Tsukasa said. Then he laughed. "But there's nothing to worry about! Now Tsukushi thinks of me as a hero! Her savior!"  
  
Rui didn't look at his friend. "She said 'I might be dying.'"  
  
"Well, you heard wrong!" Tsukasa said. They were sitting in the college cafeteria, enjoying their lunch time banter. Soujiro's and Akira's interest picked up.  
  
"You mean you actually helped her, Tsukasa? Why did you go and do something like that?" Soujiro asked, his brown eyes glinting mischievously. "Don't tell me you-"  
  
Tsukasa's temper flared and he almost leaped across the table to strange one of his best friends.  
  
~*~*~*~*~~~~~~~~***********~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~  
  
"Kazuya-kun..." Her childhood friend was walking towards her. she had been drinking from the water fountain. He was more serious than usual.  
  
"Tsukushi, I've been thinking...Are you alright now?"  
  
Tsukushi smiled. "Yeah, thank you for your ATM accounts...I promise you, one day I'll pay you back..."  
  
Kazuya waved his arm around and laughed. "That's the Makino I know!" He was cheerful again, his seriousness gone. Tsukushi smiled, and the both of them walked off to lunch.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~***~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"I thought it was you..." Soujiro said. Him and Rui had entered the pawn shop. "Since Tsukasa seems to have warmed up to you, what do you say the three of us go on to that new club that just opened?"  
  
Tsukushi shook her head. "I have to work."  
  
The two guys shuddered at the thought of working.  
  
"Suit yourself." The two walked out. Tsukushi realized that the whole time in the shop, Rui hadn't acknowledged her. He was always looking at something else. Something on the floor caught her attention. It was a diamond Rolex, Easily worth more than eight hundred thousand yen. It must have slipped from one of the customers, she thought.  
  
She strayed from the counter to pick it up. Her heart sank. Not just any customer. It belonged to Hanazawa Rui. The engraving at the gold-plated back showed his name in elegant cursive writing.  
  
(I've got to return this as soon as possible) she thought. Then a sudden thought hit her. she could use this watch as the answer to her medical needs... 


	5. nightmare rerun

Hehe thanks to all the people who reviewed my earlier chapters...Please! Continue reviewing...I really appreciate it!  
  
~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~**~*~  
  
Her eyes grew dark as she became more and more ashamed of herself. She scolded herself for thinking such a thought. Despite being sick, her conscience could still strike her pretty deep. Her hands shook as she held the Rolex in her slightly large hands. The diamond numbers winked at her attractively. She started to get up to run after the duo, but then she hesitated. And then she paused. And then she changed her mind. She slipped the watch into her pocket.  
  
From somewhere outside the store, Soujiro started to grumble.  
  
"Hey, hey, Hanazawa! What are we doing here waiting and doing nothing? Lets get away from that trash can, it stinks...Rui! Hey, lets go! Akira and Tsukasa are probably in one of their drinking games already..."  
  
Rui stopped staring at whatever he had been looking at and followed Soujiro out of the mall. In the club, they entered the 70's style disco and easily spotted the F2. They knew that the table with the most girls would be the table where their friends were. And they weren't wrong. They picked their way through the crowd, and plopped down the empty seats reserved for them.  
  
"What took you guys so long?" Tsukasa asked clearly annoyed. His tempers were famous around the school. He got angry at almost every single small thing.  
  
"Rui here visited the poor working class virgin," Soujiro grumbled, sharing the same sentiments exactly. "Hey, waiter, bring us some wine."  
  
The waiter, a short man who looked like he was still in college, narrowed his eyes, trying to see in the dim lighting of the club.  
  
"Aren't you little too young-" his eyes adjusted and he recognized the F4. The waiter schooled at Eirin academy, but even in another prestigious school, the F4's reputation had managed to crawl around the students. Pictures and stories of the famous F4 from Eitoku had been heard and seen, and many groups had tried to imitate the dynamic foursome.  
  
"Yes, right away!" The waiter said, and he left hurriedly.  
  
"What did you say to her?" Tsukasa asked suspiciously. Rui looked far off.  
  
"He didn't say anything to her," Soujiro snickered. "The weirdo just stood there looking at the store. Hey, Akira, see that girl over there? Bet you by midnight I'll be coming over to her house."  
  
Akira snickered. "Tsukasa, she looks like she's fifteen. That proves you don't know anything about flattery."  
  
Soujiro chuckled. He lowered his voice. The two playboys laughed conspiratorially. "Really, first you have to look rich," Soujiro laughed. He looked back at the F3. "Okay! You, Tsukasa, can I borrow that gold chain of yours? Akira, let me borrow one of your rings, and Rui...Rui, where's your Rolex? I want to borrow it."  
  
Rui was quiet, his eyes dark as he watched his surroundings. "I'm tired. I'm going home."  
  
Tsukasa laughed. "You're always tired, you overgrown choir boy! Stay with us a while."  
  
Rui still stood up. He had been thoughtful since he had left the mall with Soujiro, but now, the noise was threatening to make him go crazy. Soujiro stood up.  
  
"Okay fine, just leave me your Rolex. And let's trade jackets, too. That one looks like the latest one from Versace."  
  
Rui didn't tell him that it was from Versace, and yes, it was the latest from Paris.  
  
"I don't have my Rolex right now," he said. He didn't even start taking off his jacket. He made a hasty exit.  
  
"What's up with him?" Akira asked, his delicate face showing signs of concern. Soujiro muttered something about Rui acting like a spoiled kid, and Tsukasa was saying that that was how Rui acted all the time anyway.  
  
*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~~**~*~~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Tsukasa looked at the two SP's standing before him. They were in the selected group of spies of his mother's special units, especially used to look into business matters of both local and foreign investors. Tsukasa ordered their services without telling his haughty mother, Kaede Doumyouji. She would jump to conclusions way too quickly.  
  
"Doumyouji-sama," said SP #1. "The bank check you gave her has not yet been drawn out from Nippon Life."  
  
Tsukasa nodded. He stood comfortable in the lounge, on the sofa, while the SPs stood to give their report. He had ordered them to immediately return in six hours after he had first assigned them to their assignment.  
  
"What's that stupid girl stalling for?" he asked himself.  
  
"Sorry?"  
  
"What else?" he asked abruptly.  
  
"Oh! And Makino Tsukushi is sick." SP #2 said. Tsukasa nodded. It was taken care of. She was going to get well with the one million yen he had so generously given her. He didn't say anything as the report continued.  
  
"It seems she has a lot of problems to take care of," SP #1 said. Tsukasa was unworried. Yes, he thought irritably. She has many problems. Like first, how to look pretty, second, how to grow a chest, third. How to give up gracefully to the F4, how to-  
  
"Doumyouji-sama, her medicine costs around nine hundred fifty thousand yen," SP #1 said in an uncomfortable tone of voice. Tsukasas attention picked up. That was strange. He had expected her medicine to cost no more than three hundred thousand yen, and the rest, he expected her to keep for herself. He shook his head. It was taken care of, the one million yen. But he frowned.  
  
"What exactly is wrong with her?" He asked.  
  
When the explanation was finished in full detail, Tsukasa was feeling sick to his stomach (^_^@). Could lead to cancer...? The SP continued hurriedly, wanting to finish his report.  
  
"Sir, the medicine is unpaid for. The shipment arrives in two days, and if she doesn't pay before tomorrow, the medicine wont be sent at all."  
  
Tsukasa felt a headache coming on. What was the stupid girl waiting for? Why wasn't she paying using the one million yen?  
  
"And our sources told us as well that you gave her a check for one million. That should have covered up her medicine cost," said SP #1.  
  
"Yes, I know that," Tsukasa snapped.  
  
"The problem is," SP #2 continued, getting a hanker chief to wipe his forehead. "she's not going to use the money for her sickness."  
  
"What?! What could possibly be more important than saving her own life?!"  
  
SP #1 and SP #2 winced at the tone of their master's voice. They knew Kaede Doumyouji well, and were adjusted to fit her cunning personality, but Tsukasa didn't hide any of his feelings, instead voiced them out loudly. His displeasure was obvious. The SPs nudged one another to give the explanation. Finally, one of them rushed in.  
  
"Uhm, she's going to use your one million and her friend Kazuya's donation to pay for her parent's hospital bills."  
  
Tsukasa stood up. "She would never ask a donation!" he spat at them. "She would rather die than give herself up for charity..."  
  
Unless it was for someone else. And now, it was for her parents.  
  
SP #1 blabbered through an explanation of the car accident. Tsukasa stood up, and went out the house.  
  
*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*  
  
Mrs. Fukagawa said in the dango shop. She was holding the Rolex Tsukushi asked her to examine.  
  
"This...This is really worth a lot, Makino. The diamonds alone...The numbers and border is encrusted in diamonds, the face of the watch is pearl, and the rest of the watch is gold...Plus, this is a Rolex...Hm...What's this name over here...?"  
  
Makino grabbed the watch right away, red in the face. Mrs. Fukagawa's eyebrows shot up in alarm.  
  
"Tsukushi, don't tell me you-"  
  
Tsukushi shook her head violently. "I didn't steal it! Honestly, I didn't...Mrs. Fukagawa, how much do you think this is worth?"  
  
The oldish woman thought a moment. "That's about eight hundred to nine hundred thousand yen, at the most."  
  
Tsukushi's breath caught in her throat. She nodded thankfully. She mumbled a thanks, and then went out of the store, holding the watch with a shaking hand. Her conscience was bothering her greatly. She knew that the right thing was to give the watch back to Rui. She laughed scornfully. Yes, she was dying, and she worried about morals.  
  
But this was the only way she could pay for both her parents and herself. Before she could stop herself, she sped off towards the nearest pawnshop and sold it for eight hundred fifty yen, then thanked the gods that there was extra money from Kazuya's additional money that he had given her that morning. She looked at the title of the shop: "mlhuiller."  
  
She went in, and saw a kind looking man in his early twenties standing behind the counter. She was too much in a hurry to care whether he was wearing a working uniform or not. She gave him the watch, and he gave her a check. Her heart lightened. Everything was going to work out, even if she did feel completely guilty. Then she took Doumyouji's check, and the cash amount she had withdrawn from the ATMs and she sped off to the hospital. She went to visit her parents before she payed the debt.  
  
Tsukushi approached the door, and was paralyzed when she saw several doctors in clean white gowns gathered around the door. She couldn't breathe for a while, and then she broke out of her shock and ran straight to the room, pushing the doctors.  
  
"What happened?" she asked desperately to an old doctor who refused to let her pass to go in the room. "They're my parents! What happened!?!"  
  
The old doctor's face softened and he let her through. Tsukushi burst in the room with lightning fast speed, expecting the very worst. But there on the bed...  
  
"Tsukushi! Come have a drink of this expensive medicinal herb. Its from the Philippines," her mother said from the bed. Tsukushi looked around. The room had two private nurses, and lots and lots of fruits and food. Her father looked healthier than he did even before the accident, and he was gobbling up the porkchop on a plate before him.  
  
But the real shock came when Tsukushi's eyes landed on the figure sitting on the couch, his hands behind his head. It was Tsukasa Doumyouji.  
  
"D-Doumyouji..." she said. He looked at her.  
  
"Yo." He said.  
  
"He paid for those doctors outside," her mother said cheerfully. Five of them are for me, five of them are for your father, oh, and ten of them are for you."  
  
"Doumyouji! Idiot! How do you...how do you expect our family to pay for all this?!"  
  
Tsukasa laughed at the expression on her face. He laughed arrogantly.  
  
"I paid for everything! You troublesome annoying poor girl, I paid for all this! And your medicine...It's arriving tonight, by Doumyouji's private jet plane."  
  
Tsukushi couldn't find her voice. Tsukasa looked at her smugly, obviously expecting some words of praise and gratitude. Tsukushi opened her mouth, but she found that she couldn't make any normal sounding syllables.  
  
"Idontknowwhyyoudidthisbutthankyou"  
  
Tsukasa frowned.  
  
"Say it again, but this time try moving your mouth," he said. Tsukushi went to him and grabbed him, and dragged him to the bathroom. She locked the door behind her.  
  
"Tsukasa Doumyouji," she said. "I never thought I'd do this, but... "  
  
Tsukushi didn't know what other way to express her gratitude. He would know how much her next action showed her thanks. She got down on her knees and was about to kneel when a hand hit her on the head.  
  
"Idiot! I know you better than that! Don't lower your pride!"  
  
Tsukushi was speechless. She got up and nodded.  
  
"How can I thank you?" she asked in a soft voice. Tsukasa thought a while  
  
"Don't change who you are," he said. "This might seem a great deal for you, but for me, it's just a small amount of money I can afford to waste."  
  
Tsukushi blinked. 'I can afford to waste.' She shook her head but smiled inwardly. The idiot didn't know that half the things he said were complete insults. He just said that her whole family was considered a waste.  
  
As if suddenly remembering, she pulled out the check for one million yen he had given her before.  
  
"Keep it," he said indifferently. "Your poor family needs it anyway."  
  
Tsukushi closed her eyes and took a deep breath. He had said that she shouldn't change the way she was. She gathered her courage and crumpled the check.  
  
"I don't need your charity money!" she said angrily. "We're not charity cases that you need to pity!"  
  
Somehow, it felt so right acting that way again. She was the old Tsukushi, somehow. Everything was going to be okay. For some twisted reason or the other, Tsukasa Doumyouji had come into her personal life. She didn't even want to know how he found out about everything. A sudden thought hit her mind.  
  
She dashed out before he could reply and was running full speed to the train station. She heard Tsukasa calling to her several times, but all she could think about was now getting Rui's watch back. She regretted with all her heart pawning it. She felt like a thief.  
  
Tsukushi reached the pawn shop, but she didn't find the man that she had sold the watch to. She asked the woman at the counter.  
  
"Hey, where's the guy that was here earlier? Around an hour ago?"  
  
The woman looked at Tsukushi with a confused expression.  
  
"No one works here but me," she said.  
  
Tsukushi felt her face whiten.  
  
"You're joking," she said. "That watch..."  
  
She pulled out the check that the man had given her, and handed it over to the woman. She frowned.  
  
"This store has no Henry Takada as an employee. That's not even the name of the owner.  
  
At the pleading look on Tsukushi's face, the woman got the check and ran through a process with the cash register. She returned to Tsukushi, her face blank.  
  
"I'm sorry, that account number doesn't exist, either. You've been duped."  
  
Tsukushi swallowed and thanked the woman, and went out. How was she going to confess to Rui? Surely, he could afford to buy a new watch at the blink of an eye, but that wasn't the problem at hand.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~~**~~*~**~*~*~*~~*~*~**~*~  
  
Tsukushi took a deep breath. The door to the emergency stairs was in front of her. Now, all she needed was the guts to open the door. She had gone there first thing in the morning, wanting to find Rui. She didn't like the thought of talking to him for a prolonged period of time, but she owed it to him to tell him about the watch.  
  
She opened the door. Sure enough, there was Hanazawa Rui. And Tsukasa. And Akira. And Soujiro. She felt her face redden. They had been on their way up the stairs.  
  
"What bad timing," Tsukushi thought to herself. She was about to retreat, hoping that none of them had seen her, but that was just wishful thinking. Tsukasa said: "Makino! What are you doing here? Your classroom is all the way on the other side of the building!"  
  
Inwardly, Tsukasa was thinking that she had come to look for him. Tsukushi froze. She might as well get it over with. she ignored Tsukasa and turned to Rui.  
  
"Hanazawa Rui," she said. She almost stopped at the cold look in his eyes. "I have something to say to you...It's about your..."  
  
Rui's eyes began to close. He lifted his arms above his head, as if stretching himself, and the cuff of his long sleeved shirt fell below his wrist...revealing the Rolex that Tsukushi had pawned away two days before. The two of them knew that it was only for her benefit so that she could see.  
  
"You knew all along," Tsukushi said softly. "Wait! Rui, let me explain!"  
  
Rui turned his back to her coldly.  
  
"I misjudged you, Makino," he said icily. He went down the stairs.  
  
That day, during recess, Tsukushi went to her locker and opened it to put in her school slippers. A long forgotten nightmare scene replayed itself in her mind.  
  
A red tag hung in her locker. 


	6. nightmare rerun 2

Hehe...All of a sudden, I'm in the mood for corny jokes...but I wont be torturing any of you with the puns I have in mind...thanks to everyone who reviewed my story so far, please, continue doing so, it really keeps me inspired to write if all of you just review...  
  
~*~*~**~~*~*~*~**~*~*~~**~*~~**~~*~*  
  
Tsukasa Doumyouji walked out of the Eitoku building with Soujiro and Akira, joking about how Rui had gone home early to sleep, even if he actually slept like fourteen hours a day. Tsukasa was paying little attention to the conversation. He was busy noticing how there were hardly any people around the school campus. Usually, since it was after school, students would have been milling around and attending to whatever extra- curricular activities they had in mind.  
  
"Doesn't it strike anyone weird that everyone is either running towards the school gates or just not present?" Tsukasa asked with a frown to his two close friends. Akira and Soujiro stopped in their banter. They too, looked around.  
  
"Well, Whadd'ya know," Soujiro said, noticing for the first time that there were very few people around. Even in the benches near the soccer area, there were very few students. Several students passed the trio by as they raced to the main entrance gate of the school.  
  
Another guy started to race past them, but Akira immediately grabbed his t-shirt.  
  
"Where's everyone going?" Akira asked the poor guy, who looked completely stunned that a member of the F4 was talking to him.  
  
"Hey, he's talking to you," Soujiro said impatiently.  
  
"They're hazing a second year girl, the one you put the red tag in her locker," the guy said breathlessly. Soujiro and Tsukasa looked at each other.  
  
"You mean Asai?" Tsukasa said, frowning. "That was like five months ago, and since then, I thought I told everyone to leave her alone."  
  
He shrugged. "What's the girl's name?"  
  
The guy held up his hands. "I don't know...I'm just a freshman, but I heard that this is the second time the girl was red-tagged, so the student body is going to try something drastic."  
  
Tsukasa and Soujiro shrugged, knowing that they had red-tagged far too many students to remember whether they had been red-tagged already or not. A burst of cheering erupted from the distance outside the gates, and Akira let go of the guy. The three stood there, Akira and Soujiro glaring at Tsukasa meanly.  
  
"You didn't tell us you red-tagged another person," Akira complained. Tsukasa frowned.  
  
"You want a punch in the face?! I didn't red-tag anybody."  
  
The two playboys looked at each other. They hadn't red-tagged anyone either. The thought that Rui had actually came to a decision like that was too strange for them to consider. Tsukasa gave a yawn.  
  
"In any case," he said, "It's not our concern who it is. If someone is framing our group, then we'll know who it is sooner or later. Are you guys still coming over to my house?"  
  
Soujiro's face broke out into a smile. "Yep," he said. "Your maids cook the best caviar I've ever tasted, better even than our own cook."  
  
Akira nodded as well, his beautiful face in a smile. The three proceeded outside. When they had exited the main gates, they immediately spotted the large group of Eitoku students in the parking lot near the group of cherry blossoms. The F3 headed towards his limousine. There were two couches in the limo, facing the other. Tsukasa sat on one couch, and Soujiro and Akira on the other, facing Tsukasa.  
  
The car took off. The limo ran through the parking lot, and when they reached the group of students, he had to honk, since the group was directly in front of the car. The group divided in half to make way for the car, all the while cheering for the F3 as if they had done some great deed.  
  
"Dammit," Tsukasa said, suddenly dropping down and searching the ground of the limo. "I dropped my cell phone. Hey, you guys, help me look for it!"  
  
Akira and Soujiro looked at each other and rolled their eyes, used to Tsukasa's commands. Akira watched the top of Doumyouji's head from in front of him, and then looked out the window at the group of cheering students. They were all smiling, as if thanking them for the entertainment of hazing a student. A girl lay on the ground, surrounded by trash and filth. Akira craned his neck out the window, wondering with not much interest who the unfortunate victim was this time.  
  
The girl tried to get up, stretching trying to support herself using her torn arms. Akira waited. Any moment, he would know who it was...she lifted her head at the passing limo...  
  
Akira froze.  
  
"Hey, why, is it a pretty girl?" Soujiro laughed as he saw Akira's reaction. "That's not good."  
  
Soujiro ignored Doumyouji, who was still searching the floor of the limo, shouting at the limo driver to drive more smoothly so that he could look for his cell phone more easily. Soujiro leaned over across the seat to look out Akira's window. He frowned.  
  
He couldn't see her face. She was actually coughing up blood. From behind her, a guy threw more trash at her. Beside her, lay the limp, bruised body of...was that...Kazuya? The girl choked on her blood, and was spitting bile all over the pavement. A girl grabbed the victim by the hair and forced the victim to look up.  
  
Soujiro froze.  
  
He snapped back into his seat, and he and Akira looked at each other. When Tsukasa finally found his cell phone and sat back up, frowning, the limo was already on the road to his house in his exclusive subdivision.  
  
"You lazy good-for-nothings," Tsukasa frowned. Then he seemed to remember something. "Hey, did you get to see who it was that they were beating up?"  
  
The F2 shifted uncomfortably in their seats. Soujiro spoke up first.  
  
"You know," he said. "It's the strangest thing...that girl...just telling you the truth, she kind of looks...she kind of looks exactly like-"  
  
"Like my cousin," Akira said quickly. He looked at Soujiro, and Tsukasa couldn't read the expression. "Right, Soujiro? That girl was so ugly she actually looked like my guy cousin, Lukawa."  
  
Soujiro gave a fake laugh. "Yeah."  
  
*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~**~~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~~*  
  
Rui yawned, and looked at the digital clock beside his bed. The phone was jangling loudly. Rui considered letting it ring and not picking it up, but he couldn't get back to sleep. The phone kept ringing. Obviously, it was someone who knew him well, because after the twentieth ring, the phone still kept jangling. Rui switched on the Persian lamp and grabbed the phone.  
  
"Who is it? Don't you know what time it is?! It's still eight in the evening! Call me at nine tomorrow morning."  
  
Rui hung up the phone, ignoring Soujiro's voice on the other end of the line. Moments later, Akira called him, and Rui told him to call back the next day at noon.  
  
There was silence in the room. Rui switched off the light and rested his head on the soft silk covers of his bed...  
  
"RUI!!!!"  
  
There was pounding at his door. Soujiro and Akira were talking on the other side of the door in loud voices, but basically, their message was altogether clear: Hanazawa Rui, get yourself outside right now!  
  
Rui moaned, his eyes snapping open in the darkness. He turned on the speaker system next to his bed, contacting the guard.  
  
"Hey, stupid. You know those two you let in earlier? Well, get them out right now. They're ruining my sleep."  
  
The guard wouldn't do any good, though, because Akira and Soujiro burst in the next second, thanks to Soujiro's strong shoulder. Akira snapped on the lights. Rui sat up in bed and rubbed his eyes, glaring at his friends. His blue eyes glinted angrily as they adjusted to the light.  
  
"Hanazawa!" Soujiro burst, coming over and grabbing Rui by the front of his shirt.  
  
"This isn't like you!" He shouted. "Why'd you go off and red-tag someone?! And of ALL the people, Makino Tsukushi!! Idiot! What would Tsukasa have done if he had found out?!"  
  
Rui pried Soujiro's hands off himself and got out of the large bed. He stood in the clothes he had worn the same day, having used them as his pajamas.  
  
"What are you talking about."  
  
Rui walked to the mini-refrigerator and he got out a bottle of mineral water. He turned and glared at the F2 standing before him.  
  
"You know what you did? You red-tagged Makino and now she's the target of everyone in school. Idiot! What were you thinking?" Akira was more calm that Soujiro, but he seemed to be in the middle of a great headache, because a hand was to his forehead. Rui frowned.  
  
"You're saying I can't red-tag anyone."  
  
"Not- Not when-!!! NOT WHEN YOU KNOW TSUKASA LIKES HER-!!! Stupid!"  
  
"Does Tsukasa know yet?" Rui asked Soujiro calmly despite the outburst.  
  
Akira shook his head. Rui felt his eyelids getting heavy.  
  
"This isn't like you, Hanazawa," Akira said softly. Rui yawned.  
  
"She's not going to be badly hurt. You know her," Rui said, unconcerned.  
  
At that moment, Soujiro snapped. He flung himself at Rui, and Rui took the punch. The two were trained equally in areas of Aikido and Taekwondo and kendo and jujutsu and most of the other forms of defense. But those attacks were used against strangers. Soujiro and Rui were fighting in a fist fight, with no rules whatsoever.  
  
Rui had knocked Soujiro a couple of times on the stomach and jaw, and likewise before Akira jumped in and actually had the strength to pry them from the other. Akira was stronger than he looked. And Rui was sleepy. He wiped a drop of blood from the corner of his mouth and cursed the security officer. He must have gotten lost again, he thought scornfully.  
  
Akira held Soujiro back, urgently telling his best friend to shut up and calm down. Finally, Soujiro yanked his arms free and wiped the blood off the side of his own mouth. He staggered backwards and plopped on Rui's bed.  
  
"It's true..." he started. "It's true that Tsukasa doesn't know what he like half of the time, but Tsukushi is one of the people he sort of cares for. The idiot just doesn't know it."  
  
"You don't know that for sure."  
  
Akira chuckled without humor. "All three of us know Tsukasa likes her. He's as transparent as a scrap of glass. The way he took care of her expenses..."  
  
"It wasn't for her. It was for her parents."  
  
Soujiro leaned back in the bed. "Also for her. Her parents were in a car accident and they were both in the hospital. Her parent's expenses alone cost more than a million yen. Her expenses cost nine hundred fifty yen."  
  
Akira smiled. "That Tsukasa has money to burn, so it doesn't kill him. He just accesses to his father's bank account. He can do that."  
  
And Rui stood still. He knew that Tsukasa had given Tsukushi some money for her medicine, but he had no idea that Makino's medication had been that expensive. And he hadn't known that both her parents had been involved in an accident. If their expenses were so high, they must have almost died, the two of them. He hadn't dropped the watch on purpose; the latch had always been a bit loose. But when he had turned back to find the watch, he had seen Tsukushi grab it and put it in her pocket.  
  
He had hired someone to get back the watch when she was finished with it. The man in the pawn shop had indeed been a con artist, but the person he had hired was able to buy it back for much more than what it had been worth in the first place.  
  
But...somehow, he knew that Tsukushi had tried to get it back, and Tsukushi had come to the emergency stairs to tell him about his watch. He could hardly blame her. Sure, she had sold something that was never hers in the first place, but she was dying, and there was barely any other solution.  
  
"How badly hurt was she?" Rui asked Soujiro in a low voice, hating himself completely for what he had done.  
  
"Geez, I don't know. She was pretty bad when we left school, around three hours ago. Me and Akira were planning to go check up on her after this place."  
  
Rui immediately started for the door. "Don't bother. I'll do it."  
  
He disappeared out the doorway. Akira was about to follow him, but Soujiro put a hand on the boy's shoulder.  
  
"Don't," Soujiro said. "When Rui goes out alone, that means he wants to take care of these things by himself. There must be something we don't know."  
  
*~*~*~~**~~*~*~**~~**~~*~*~**~*~*~  
  
Tsukushi was battered. Her uniform was torn enough as if it had been through a hurricane. She whimpered. She could barely find enough strength to open her eyes. When she did, it took her an even longer time to have her eyes adjust to the darkness around her. Blood was pounding in her head, and dried blood was on her hands.  
  
She couldn't get up.  
  
A voice came up and made her blood freeze.  
  
"So she's finally awake," a male voice laughed. Three other voices were chuckling among themselves. "I want her to be awake to witness this."  
  
He stepped up. From the ground, Tsukushi couldn't make his face out.  
  
"Remember," he started. "Remember that time in the beginning when Hanaawa Rui stopped us? This time, we're going to finally finish it. You really hurt our pride back there."  
  
(Again, for those who haven't read the manga, these four guys attempted to rape her at the beginning of the year, the first time she had been red-tagged, and she was saved by Rui.)  
  
One of the guys grabbed her by the arm, and she was too weak to even tense herself up. They didn't have any trouble dragging her to the area under a lamplight. This time, she could stare up at their faces. They were four shadows against a yellow background, and she couldn't see their faces. She couldn't get her mouth to move.  
  
"Gawd, she stinks," one of the guys complained. "Why do we have to do it TONIGHT? Why not tomorrow, when at least she could take a bath?"  
  
"The sooner the better. Who knows what could come up tomorrow."  
  
Tsukushi could barely feel her clothes being torn off. When she felt the cold night air against her bare skin, that was when she knew that she was in trouble. She tried to scream, but all that came out was a strangled sob. She fell into blackness. 


	7. tsukushi: afraid of tsukasa?

"Tomo, somebody's coming," the guy said urgently.  
  
The guy they had called Tomo stopped struggling with his zipper.  
  
"What? We're just starting to do this! Who is it?"  
  
"Sh*t, it looks like Hanazawa Rui!"  
  
Tomo stopped whatever movement he was engaged in. Under him, lay Makino Tsukushi. It could have been finished if only they were given another ten minutes at least.  
  
"You're sure?" Tomo whispered urgently.  
  
"Dammit, Tomo, let's go! Let's go!"  
  
The four fled.  
  
*~*~*~*~~*~*~**~~~~~~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
His hands reached out...  
  
"Tsukushi! Stop screaming!"  
  
Tsukushi's eyes flew open. She came into focus with whiteness. She heard someone say something about the time: 9:30 PM. For a moment, she thought that she had fallen asleep and woken up in her parent's hospital room, but then she remembered that they had been released the Sunday before. While her eyes were adjusting, she shifted, and pain shot throughout her whole body.  
  
Along with the pain, she remembered a couple of things...she remembered how she had been dragged after school to the parking lot, how Kazuya had tried to hold them off as long as he could...she remembered seeing Makiko's stricken face. Then she remembered the rest until she fell off into darkness.  
  
She stared at the ceiling, the silence deafening her. Then, her eyes filled with tears. They coursed down her cheeks. The feeling was something strange. She felt dirty and ugly and she felt as if she were a whore.  
  
Rui's concerned face came into focus. Tsukushi bolted up, holding the cover to herself.  
  
"Tsukushi, calm down," Rui said softly. He reached out to put his arms around her shoulder. Tsukushi screamed.  
  
"Get away from me!" she screamed. The sight of another guy so close made her go into flash-back mode into the nightmare she was trying so hard to forget. She jumped out of bed, dragging the blanket with her. The dextrose needle ripped from her arm. She didn't feel the pain at all. Rui was looking at her in alarm. She was terrified of him.  
  
"Makino," Rui said urgently. "Wait!"  
  
Tsukushi bolted for the door. It was a private hospital room, obviously exclusive. There was a television set, and a private bathroom, and a large overstuffed couch and a coffee table. A private intercom near the hospital bed was for the benefit of the patients, in case they needed anything, all they had to do was press the button. Tsukushi could barely get enough energy to walk fast, but the desperation she felt on getting away from Hanazawa Rui gave her enough adrenaline to run.  
  
But Rui was faster than her. he reached her before she had reached the door. At the touch of another guy so soon after her experience, she starting sobbing and crying and struggling. Rui easily held her in his two arms, keeping her feet off the ground so that she wouldn't try to drag him on her way out the door.  
  
"Let me go!" Tsukushi was crying out. The door burst open, and nurses streamed in, hired by Rui when he had first driven her to the hospital. One of them carried a pacifying needle. Another nurse held on to Tsukushi's arm, and the first nurse jammed the needle into the skin.  
  
Tsukushi became limp in Rui's arms. Silent, he carried her to the hospital bed, hating himself with all his heart for putting up the red tag in her locker. Tsukushi's eyes were about to close, her eyes clouded with the pain of memory. She whispered in a broken voice:  
  
"Rui...please don't look at me like that...Please don't look at me..."  
  
*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~**~*~*~  
  
Rui called Tsukushi's parents, telling them what had happened to Tsukushi. He left out the state he had found her in, and he left out the fact that she had been beaten up by the student body. He had also brought Kazuya into the hospital as well, but this time, he knew that Kazuya could take care of his own hospitalization bills on his own. Rui went over to the doctor's office in the hospital.  
  
"When can you examine her?" Rui asked as soon as he entered. The man at the desk jumped in his seat. He was a short, extremely smart doctor, and for that reason, Rui had asked for his service.  
  
"Not tonight. She's probably too traumatized to let me examine her." the doctor said.  
  
Of course, they weren't talking about Tsukushi's physical condition. Enough had been done to take care of that. As of the moment, Rui was asking the doctor if those guys had gone all the way with Tsukushi. He had found her completely naked, her clothes torn around her. He had driven her to the hospital immediately.  
  
"She's sleeping," Rui pointed out, his genuine concern showing.  
  
The doctor rubbed his hands together, sighing.  
  
"I really recommend waiting. She might wake up, and start struggling."  
  
Rui shrugged.  
  
"I want to know right NOW, doctor," he said, his voice deadly. But the doctor wasn't intimidated. This young man before him was his own nephew.  
  
"I'll do it tomorrow morning," he promised.  
  
*~**~~*~**~*~*~~*~*~**~~*~*~**~*~~*~*~*~*~**~~**~*~  
  
Rui left the hospital when her parents came. He had explained to them that he was going to take care of all the expenses, and that they shouldn't worry. They were extremely grateful, and had thanked him profusely before rushing into the room.  
  
When he entered his room, he saw that Akira and Soujiro were still in his room, lounging around. Soujiro was at the phone, talking with some girl, and Akira was looking through his selection of DVD movies. They sat up when they saw Rui. From the look on his face, they were suddenly serious. Akira was the first to ask.  
  
"What happened?"  
  
**~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~**~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"What?" Tsukasa picked up Akira by the front of his t-shirt. Akira gave Tsukasa an annoyed grimace.  
  
"Let go of my shirt," he said in a deadpan voice. Tsukasa let go after a moment. Akira smoothed out his shirt, and he repeated what had happened to Tsukushi, not telling Tsukasa that it had been Rui who had put the red tag in the locker and not telling Tsukasa what state Tsukushi had been found in. All he said was that it was Makino who had been beaten up and she was currently in the hospital.  
  
"So that's why she's not at school today," Tsukasa said to himself. The strange feeling of rage was building up inside him. He turned to Soujiro.  
  
"Did you find out who put the red tag in her locker?"  
  
Soujro shifted uncomfortably, and Akira fiddled with his hands. Soujiro was sort of a good liar when it came to other people, but he definitely wasn't used to lying to Tukasa, and at the moment, Doumyouji's quiet anger seemed more dangerous than usual. Soujiro felt that if he tried to lie, Tsukasa would see right through it, and give him a sock in the face.  
  
Fortunately, Akira was more calm than Soujiro. Akira held up his hands.  
  
"We have no clue," Akira said. Tsukasa whipped up on his, his eyes flashing. From behind him, Soujiro wiped the nervous sweat off his forehead.  
  
"YOU might have no clue," he shouted to the serene face, "But I can tell Soujiro here-knows something that I don't!"  
  
Tsukasa fumbled for Soujiro's shirt, but Soujiro dodged out of the way. He wasn't afraid of Tsukasa's strength, but he didn't want to become involved in a fistfight. Akira knocked Tsukasa's arms out of the way.  
  
"We were both surprised. We thought it was you," Akira said, his face completely passive. Tsukasa calmed down and considered this a while. He frowned.  
  
"Once I get my hands on the guy who red-tagged her, I'll make him pay so badly..."  
  
Akira and Soujiro looked away.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*  
  
Tsukushi sighed. The hospital was a boring place, after all. It was two days after she had been beaten up, but the shame she felt was still completely raw. She didn't want to see any person, and she didn't want anyone to look at her. She was completely paranoid that they would find out what had happened.  
  
She stood up, and went to the balcony. She pushed the silk curtains aside gently and looked down on the street below. Cars were rushing in both directions, left and right. The fast movement, light and shadows around her...Tsukushi felt herself become nauseated once again, remembering the ordeal. She numbly felt imaginary hands around her ankles...around her legs...Without knowing it, she stepped on the metal rail of the balcony safety bar. She stood on top, the wind tearing at her to fall. The only way she remained able to balance herself on top was by holding the cement hold above her head. She looked at the onrushing cars below her...felt the unbearable shame...  
  
"What are you doing?" Said an alarmed voice. Hands gripped her waist immediately, pulling her back easily even when she resisted.  
  
She recoiled away from the touch as if his hands were on fire, and saw herself looking into the face of Akira. She got a hold of herself, and matched up to his stare. From his viewpoint, Akira gaped at Tsukushi. According to the nurse, she refused to eat, and she couldn't sleep at night.  
  
"Soujiro's getting some iced tea from the vending machine," Akira said numbly, wondering what Tsukushi must have gone through to make her stand on the safety rail just inches away from a certain death.  
  
Tsukushi inched away from him, and back into the safety of the hospital room. Somehow, she knew that it hadn't been Akira who had put the red tag in her locker. Just by looking at him, anyone could easily tell that he wasn't that violent kind of person.  
  
She quickened the pace protectively, never once turning her back to him, wanting to go out of the room as soon as possible. A solid figure came in contact with her back. She jumped, and whirled around.  
  
"Yo."  
  
Tsukasa Doumyouji stood there coolly, his hands behind his head in a relaxed position.  
  
"Doumyouji," she said softly. "Y-You-"  
  
Burst-out mode. Activating...  
  
"YOU BASTARD!!!" she threw herself at him and punched him in the face. The next time she tried to throw another punch at him, he grabbed her hands and held her in place without a sweat. He frowned.  
  
"Stupid woman!" He shouted. "What trouble did you get yourself into?! You can't be left alone for a second without getting yourself into trouble!!!"  
  
He was shouting in her face, and he was too caught up in himself to realize that she had become petrified. She was staring at him with wide eyes. Akira, knowing what Tsukushi had gone through, sort of understood what she was thinking. She blamed Tsukasa for what had happened to her, so of course, she would be terrified of Tsukasa's power to make her go through it again.  
  
"Tsukasa, let her go," Akira said, approaching the two.  
  
"What is it?" Tsukasa frowned at Tsukushi. "You look like you're seeing a ghost."  
  
Tsukushi started struggling to move out of his grip. Tsukasa still held her small wrists easily. What was wrong with her? From behind him, Soujiro opened the door, holding four cans of iced tea.  
  
"Hey, Makino," Soujiro said, trying to be casual. Finally, Tsukasa let go of Tsukushi, and she rushed straight for the door. Soujiro caught her, not allowing her to go past him. He felt her shaking in his arms and he frowned. He knew what she was remembering. He said softly.  
  
"Tsukushi, I'm not going to hurt you. I'm sorry about what happened, but I promise, it wasn't my idea to put you through any of this."  
  
If Tsukushi heard any of this, she gave no sign of it. But she stopped trying to get away from his bear hug. Then Tsukasa pried her off Soujiro and made her face him. He had to turn her head using his hand. Her face was stark white. Tsukasa felt again the frown on his face. If before, Tsukushi looked like she had seen a ghost, now she looked like there was the overlord of ghosts in front of her, and as if she were about to die a certain death.  
  
And Tsukushi couldn't help but think that this man-this man in front her had the power to let those guys go after her again. she wanted to curse him and hit him and scream at him, but she found that she was too scared. That was unusual, but she was afraid he would arrange for another time around.  
  
Tsukasa was studying her face.  
  
"What are you thinking?!" He shouted, his patience with her tirade over. "What's WRONG with you?!"  
  
He shook her like a rag doll. She winced. Before, she would have upper-cutted him in the face and have forced him to lose a couple of teeth. But that was before she had known better. As long as she stayed at Eitoku. He could control her life if he wished to. But none of these thoughts were written on her face. The only emotion seen was fear.  
  
"Are you going stupid?" Tsukasa asked. The girl he was holding was obviously terrified. Then a thought hit him. He let go of her immediately, and she rushed a far away from his as she could.  
  
Makino Tsukushi was terrified of him. That wasn't right.  
  
Tsukasa felt a brittle, disbelieving laugh escape from his mouth.  
  
"W-What? You think I put the red tag in your locker?"  
  
He advanced towards her. she held her hands in front of herself protectively.  
  
"I-I'm sorry," she stammered. "I won't hit you again, but please- please-don't come near me!"  
  
She had screamed the last sentence. Tsukasa froze where he stood.  
  
"BUT I DIDN'T DO IT!!!" He shouted. Tsukushi just started to cry. Tsukasa started to come closer, but a cool hand held him back. Tsukasa found himself looking at Hanazawa Rui.  
  
"Let me talk to her," Rui said. Tsukasa stared at Tsukushi. She was as willing to talk to Rui as much as she had been willing to talk to Doumyouji. But Rui actually cornered her by force, his arms on either side of her.  
  
"Tsukushi," Rui said, his face inched from her face. He was speaking softly, so that only she could hear him. "It-it didn't happen. I came before they could finish."  
  
Tsukushi stiffened. She looked at him with wide eyes. "A-Are you sure?"  
  
"My Uncle's a doctor. He just confirmed it. He checked you this afternoon."  
  
Several emotions played through her face, and Rui was given the privilege of seeing each on flicker across her eyes and mouth. But the most general emotion there was relief, and gratitude.  
  
"But those guys..." she said softly.  
  
Rui yawned lazily and straightened up, his arms falling from her sides.  
  
"I had them expelled from the school, and a couple of months in a juvenile center. They're taken care of."  
  
Then she started to cry, as if a dam had been broken. The imaginary shame she had felt earlier felt like it was being washed away. A cold object poked her arm. She looked up through tear-filled eyes to look at Soujiro's face. He was smiling and holding the can of iced tea. Tsukushi took it gratefully, no longer afraid of a guy's presence. There was silence as she cried. When she was done, she drank the iced tea, and then the other can, and then another, and finally, the last one.  
  
Soujiro looked towards the hospital door.  
  
"I can buy you some more of those, Makino," he said. Tsukushi laughed and refused.  
  
As of the moment, she had forgotten that the F4 were her sworn enemy.  
  
Her eyes looked over to Tsukasa. He was watching her. His words sounded in her mind. She wondered whether to believe him.  
  
"Tsukasa," she said, zeroing the attention of everyone in the room to him. "Is it true what you said? That you weren't the one who put the red tag in my locker?"  
  
Tsukasa bristled. "Yeah," he muttered. "Why don't you believe me?"  
  
Tsukushi thought a moment, and then she frowned. "I believe you, Doumyouji. I'm sorry. Things between the five of us are still the same, right? I mean, the four of you will still be at my throat. But...if you weren't the one who put the red tag in my locker, then who did?"  
  
Tsukasa thought. "Akira and Soujiro didn't put it. Rui wouldn't do something like that (The F2 looked at Rui, who looked at Tsukushi.) and I didn't do it...There must be an imposter."  
  
Tsukushi nodded. But she had seen Soujiro's and Akira's look towards Rui, and Rui had looked at her with such remorse in his eyes that she knew right away that it had been him who had put the red tag, and the remorse in his eyes made her forgive him right away. She knew he hadn't meant for things to get too far, and after all, he was the one who had saved her and now, he was paying for her hospitalization.  
  
"Oh yes," Tsukushi said, turning to Rui. "I'm going to be discharged tomorrow. Thank you for your help in taking care of these bills."  
  
"Tomorrow?" Akira said. "You don't look like you're well enough yet."  
  
Tsukushi smiled. "I'm a weed, remember? Besides, I don't feel as bad as I look. See?"  
  
She bent down to make her point, and tried not to wince as pain shot up in all her major muscles and joints. But the pain was clear on her face. It took her a while to gather back enough strength to pull herself up in a standing position. Soujiro was talking on his cell phone. He hung up.  
  
"Well," he said cheerily. "I just hired a security guard outside this room. Tsukushi can't leave until next week at least."  
  
Tsukushi grimaced, too tired to argue.  
  
"You guys better go home. I'm going to go visit Kazuya-kun." 


	8. birthday party for the rich

Note to the dear readers, if there are any: I made all of the people grow up one year. Later on in my story, everyone will be growing up until after college. This is because I want to come to the ending where Tsukushi and her pair will marry off. They can't marry in high school, can they? ^_^  
  
"I can't believe we're finally third year," Kazuya gushed to Tsukushi. She laughed and nodded in agreement. Over the end of the year before, she had somehow managed to regain whatever respect she could scrounge up, and gain a few friends. Kazuya, Sakurako, Makiko, they were her close friends. Her life was in order once again...Except for...  
  
"Makino! Idiot! Why didn't you greet me at my first day of college?!" Tsukasa Doumyouji's voce boomed from the top of her. It was lunch time, and she had been eating in the cafeteria. Tsukushi looked up with an annoyed look on her face. She was no longer at war with the F4, in fact, sometimes, they could actually stand the sight of the other, but she couldn't help but get annoyed with Tsukasa.  
  
"I don't need to do that!!" Tsukushi shot back. "Hire someone else to greet you!"  
  
Tsukushi looked at the person beside Tsukasa, and smiled in spite of herself. Hanazawa Rui was looking more mature and he was a beautiful image of a young man about to meet the world as what it really was.  
  
"Hey, Rui."  
  
"Hey, Tsukushi."  
  
"Hey, the two of you! I'm still here, remember? Rui, aren't you annoyed she didn't greet you? She greeted Soujiro and Akira, and she completely forgot the both of us!"  
  
Rui shrugged. "She greeted me this morning in the emergency stairs."  
  
Tsukasa was busy wondering if he should wait in the emergency stairs then everyday when Tsukushi gave a grimace. She waved to Tsukasa.  
  
"Congratulations on actually going to college, Tsukasa."  
  
Tsukasa threw back his head and laughed proudly. "You're righjt! Someday I'm going to become a great world leader, Makino Tsukushi, and you'll be proud that you're my friend!!"  
  
Tsukushi grimaced. Since when were they 'friends'? she turned to Rui.  
  
"Rui, why'd you go with Tsukasa? Don't you know his dumbness will rub off on you?"  
  
Rui closed his eyes, his bangs falling into his face.  
  
"I felt like seeing you."  
  
A flicker of annoyance went across Tsukasa's face, and the two left the high school cafeteria. Sakurako gushed.  
  
"Uuuyyyyyy! Tsukushi! You didn't tell me you like Doumyouji and Rui!"  
  
Tsukushi's eye twitched, but she chose to remain silent. Kazuya started whining.  
  
"No, she doesn't like any of them at all! Right, Tsukushi?" He looked at her with pleading puppy eyes, wanting her to confirm it. Tsukushi heard herself laugh.  
  
"Who would like that Doumyouji? He's just a spoiled rich kid!"  
  
Makiko sighed. "What I wouldn't give to talk to any of the F4," she breathed. Tsukushi smiled softly to herself. Makiko was acting just like any other high school girl in the campus. None of them got it. The F4 were just like any other person.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~~**~~*~**~~*~*~**~~*~*~*~**~~*  
  
"What? You want me to come?" Tsukushi asked. Tsukasa turned red, and he looked away. Soujiro and Akira were snickering at his reaction. Rui, passive as always, leaned on his arms. The five were at the campus grounds. Tsukushi had been walking on her way home when Akira had called her over to come have a drink with them.  
  
"Yeah. It's only going to be a small gathering, so it wouldn't be too bad if you came along," Tsukasa said. Tsukushi couldn't imagine any person with Tsukasa's social standing having a small gathering for a birthday celebration, but if he said only a few close people were coming, then she'd accept that.  
  
"Yeah, and all of us will be there, too, to show you around," Soujiro said. "We'll show you a couple of guys that just might fall in love with your plain face and straight body."  
  
Soujiro and Akira laughed good-naturedly. Tsukushi felt her face grow red.  
  
"Shut up, the both of you!" Tsukasa said savagely. The F2 continued laughing. Tsukasa kicked the both of them. Rui stretched lazily.  
  
"Well, I'm going to sleep," he said. He got up. Tsukushi stood up as well.  
  
"Wait," she said. "I have to ask you something."  
  
Rui hesitated, but waited for her to gather her things, and the two of them walked together to the campus gates. Akira and Soujiro were snickering between themselves when Akira caught the look on Tsukasa's face as his eyes followed the figures of Tsukushi and Rui to the gates.  
  
"Don't worry," Akira said, putting hitting Tsukasa on the shoulder. "Rui doesn't like Tsukushi."  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***~*~*~*~**~~*~**~~*~  
  
"Please-!" Tsukushi said, pleading with Rui using her eyes. They were walking on the streets. Rui gave her a lazy look, hints of a smile already playing at the sides of his mouth.  
  
"Sure," he said. "I'll help you pick out a shirt for Tsukasa."  
  
"Great!" Tsukushi said, punching a fist in the air. "The party's tomorrow, Saturday, so I have to get a gift now...you guys are so weird. You invited me at the very last minute. Can we stop over at my house? I've got to get my savings."  
  
"Don't worry," Rui said. "I'll pay for it."  
  
Tsukushi looked at him. "That's not good. That way, it would be like you're the one giving the gift, and not me, right? Don't worry, I wont buy something really expensive."  
  
They reached the apartment Tsukushi had moved into. Tsukushi laughed nervously. Only Kazuya, Makiko, and Sakurako knew that she was living by herself in the apartment. Tsukushi pushed away her thoughts.  
  
"This is where you live? This place is as big as my-"  
  
"So," Tsukushi deliberately interrupted, sitting him in the dining area, since there was no living room. She knew that the last word in Rui's sentence would have been: 'bathroom'. "Make yourself at home! I'll be right back."  
  
When she reappeared, she was dressed in jeans and a shirt. Rui was looking uncomfortable in the dining area, and Tsukushi giggled to herself.  
  
"Where are your parents?" Rui asked.  
  
"They moved to some fishing village, and they took Susumo along with them. They're sending me money through the mail."  
  
Rui didn't let his discomfort show. A high school girl living all alone by herself?  
  
"Come on, let's go," Tsukushi said brightly. "It's going to be a long, long night."  
  
Rui's limousine was waiting outside when they stepped out. Rui had called the driver using his cell phone. They were driven to the mall, where Tsukushi dragged Rui around for more than four hours, making him fit t- shirts and take a look at belts and wallets.  
  
"It's a bit tight around my shoulders," Rui said. He honestly didn't mind being dragged around the mall, since Tsukushi was so anxious to make it up to him. She was actually scrimping enough money to buy him an ice cream cone. Rui didn't mention that he didn't eat the ice cream at the mall since they didn't put enough cream.  
  
Tsukushi looked at the polo critically. "You're right," she said, smiling. "I'm lucky you're about the same size as Tsukasa, so I don't have to worry about getting the wrong size."  
  
They were in the dressing room. Tsukushi handed him another polo. "Here, try this," she said. She handed him a crisp blue polo.  
  
Rui started unbuttoning the polo that he was wearing. Tsukushi turned red and stalked out of the dressing room quickly. Rui didn't even seem to notice that she had been there. After a while, Rui stepped out the dressing room. Tsukushi's breath caught in her throat. He was looking at her with that trademark passive stare of hers, but his eyes were somehow bluer.  
  
"It fits well," Rui said, interrupting her thoughts.  
  
"Th-that's good," Tsukushi managed to stammer. Rui looked at the price tag that hung from the right sleeve.  
  
"How much is your budget?" He asked. Tsukushi looked through her wallet, counting the bill carefully. These were her savings for three months. Rui was waiting for an answer. Tsukushi looked up from her wallet, her face turning red with embarrassment.  
  
"Uhm, about five thousand yen," she said. "Why, how much does that polo cost?"  
  
Rui looked at the polo again, pretending to read the price. The polo actually cost more than Tsukushi could afford, about eleven thousand. Normally, that would be half the price he paid for his own polos, but he didn't say anything. He looked back at Tsukushi.  
  
"Wait, let me confirm with the lady at the counter," he said. "Look around this place first."  
  
He went off.  
  
When he reached the counter, he talked to the lady in a nonchalant voice, for Tsukushi's benefit, if she happened to be listening at the moment. Of course, she wasn't the type to eavesdrop, but words could always drift to her ear.  
  
"The price tag shows eleven thousand yen," Rui started. "Now, my name is Hanazawa Rui, the..."  
  
Rui returned to the dressing room, and Tsukushi was waiting.  
  
"Well?" she asked. "How much is it?"  
  
Rui yawned lazily. "The price tag is blurred. I can't read it. Why don't you try asking the lady at the counter? She was taking too long checking her machine, so I left."  
  
He went behind the changing screen, and Tsukushi talked to him from the other side.  
  
"Do you think Tsukasa will like it?" she asked worriedly.  
  
"I think so," Rui said honestly. Actually, that brand would have been considered trash to the students of Eitoku, but if Tsukasa could just see her effort in picking the right gift for him, then he was sure that Tsukasa would be as grateful for the gift as he would have been.  
  
Rui got out, and handed the polo to Tsukushi. She walked over to the counter, holding her wallet. She looked at the lady. The lady was a young woman in her early twenties, and as of the moment, she was looking a little nervous.  
  
"Excuse me, the price tag isn't clear, how much is this?" Tsukushi looked for the paper tag and saw it for the first time. Rui must need glasses, she thought. The numbers were written clearly and she didn't need any assistance in reading it. Eleven thousand yen! Even her own shirts cost around only seven hundred.  
  
"Eleven thousand yen," the counter lady said. Tsukushi was just about to turn away. From over Tsukushi's shoulder, the lady sweat as she saw Rui glare at her.  
  
"But-!!" The lady said somewhat frantically, grabbing the polo again. "This is on...it's on discount, you see..." The lady got the ran the polo through her machine. Tsukushi frowned as the price of eleven thousand came up on the monitor. The lady laughed nervously.  
  
"That's the trouble with these things," she said without missing a beat. "These machines get broken much too easily."  
  
She re-punched the numbers in her keyboard, until the price of five thousand appeared on the monitor, pressing the keys so hard that the keyboard jangled.  
  
"Well, what do you know! It's only five thousand," the lady said. Will that be by cash or by credit, miss?"  
  
"Cash," Tsukushi said, and then looked at Rui suspiciously. He was looking at something else. Tsukushi chided herself for being so paranoid. She mumbled thanks to the lady at the counter, and she approached Rui.  
  
"You know, it's the strangest thing," she said to him. "Did you..."  
  
She looked at his lazy face, and then started laughing to herself.  
  
"Never mind," she said. "Listen, I have a hundred yen. Let's go get ourselves some shaved ice."  
  
~**~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*  
  
Tsukushi looked at the sight before her and frowned. What Duomyouji had meant by a 'small gathring' actually meant several grown-ups, several high school students, and members of the F4 and their friends. At the moment, Tsukushi was feeling a little left out. Everyone was wearing expensive suits from Versace and Lacoste. She asked herself if she should have borrowed something from Sakurako instead of going in one of her 'poor' outfits. The word poor left a bitter taste in her mouth. It made her sound like a peasant. But at the moment, she was feeling very out of place. Everyone was snubbing her.  
  
"Makino!" Soujiro came up to her out of nowhere. "Wow, you look..."  
  
Soujiro looked for a polite enough word. The fact that he was wearing a white cutting-edge long sleeved shirt and slacks didn't help her disposition at all. He was looking classy, and the girls around him were gawking at him and trying to get his attention.  
  
"Poor." Tsukushi said deadpan-ly. Soujiro winced. Akira appeared behind him, and he clapped Tsukushi on the back. Akira was wearing a similar white shirt and black pants.  
  
"Hey, Makino!" He said cheerfully. "Nice jeans."  
  
Tsukushi turned red. She shifted her bag uncomfortably, and was relieved when Rui popped up. He looked at her. Rui was wearing a dark green polo and black slacks.  
  
"Hey," Rui said. "Our table is over there." He grabbed her arm and started to lead her to a table in some part in the middle of the vast front lawn. Tsukushi held back.  
  
"You know..." she said. "Maybe I should...I don't really fit here..."  
  
"Don't be like that," Soujiro laughed. "Tsukasa wouldn't like it if you'd leave without greeting him."  
  
They reached the table. Tsukasa was already sitting, and there were three girls around him...three very familiar heads...Tsukushi was about to turn around to leave.  
  
"Y-you invited Makino Tsukushi?!" Asai suddenly burst out in that shrill voice of hers. Tsukushi winced and pretended not to notice the amount of stares coming her direction. Tsukasa looked up from his plate. He was wearing a formal Armani suit, and when he saw her, his whole face lit up.  
  
"Yo," he said. He motioned for her to sit down. Tsukushi sat down gratefully, and cast a glare at Asai, who stalked off with her two friends.  
  
"Who else is coming? There are seven seats," Tsukushi said.  
  
"My sister, and Shizuka," Tsukasa said. He grimaced. "Really, Tsukushi, couldn't you have worn something that looked at little less-"  
  
"You said this was a casual party."  
  
"A little less poor?"  
  
Tsukushi put her hands on the table, trying to hide her anger. But as she looked around to the other people in the party, she recognized the truth in his words. What was she doing, wearing something that was fit for the maids? She saw that the other women were wearing dresses, at least knee- length. And here she was, wearing jeans. She was about to get up when a servant put a plate in front of her.  
  
Tsukushi stared at the food. Beside her, Rui piped up: "That's Pork Chow Mien, a Chinese specialty." Tsukushi looked at him gratefully. Beside her, Shizuka, having arrived, said,  
  
"Tsukushi, you really do look healthier since I last saw you."  
  
Tsukushi looked at Shizuka. The woman in front of her, if anything, had become more beautiful. Her eyes seemed wider, her smile more alluring. Rui said from her right:  
  
"She's cuter."  
  
Tsukushi blushed and looked at Rui, who seemed to have thought nothing of the comment except a casual statement. Shizuka laughed. From across the table, Tsukasa wondered what they were talking about. Tsubaki said:  
  
"Tsukasa, I never realized how much you like Tsukushi."  
  
Tsukasa turned red. Soujiro and Akira looked at each other.  
  
"No way... he's not denying it!" Akira said, amazed. Tsukasa barked at Rui.  
  
"Rui! Get up! I want to sit beside Tsukushi!"  
  
Everyone at the table looked at Rui, who looked at Tsukasa lazily. Without a word, Rui got up. Tsukasa got up, grabbing his plate. Rui sat back down in his seat. Tsukasa's eyes narrowed.  
  
"Cramps," Rui said. "Looks like you're staying there. I can't walk."  
  
AFTER DINNER  
  
"Come on, let's go give our gifts," Tsubaki said, standing up. "Hey, Tsukasa. Let's go to your room."  
  
The rest stood up and followed Tsubaki's lead. Asai vaporized from thin air.  
  
"Doumyouji! Where are you going?" Tsukasa ignored her. They reached Tsukasa's room. Tsukushi stared around in amazement. It was a large, large room. The floor was carpeted, there was a fireplace, everything was in rich colors. The ceiling was high above head. Tsukushi took a passing glance at the bathroom and saw that it was as big as her whole apartment room.  
  
Akira elbowed her playfully and chuckled at her awe. "I guess that reaction is expected from a poor person," he chuckled. Tsukushi sighed.  
  
"Stop it with the 'poor' already," she hissed. Akira just laughed. The seven sat down after Tsubaki lit the fireplace. All of them got out their gifts, and Tsukasa waited impatiently. Tsukushi kept her gift in her bag, wanting to give no clue as to what it was.  
  
Shizuka was first. She gave him a slim, semi-flat box. Tsukasa tore open the wrapping paper, and there, in front of him, was a brand new Pentium five Apple laptop computer. Shizuka grinned.  
  
"It's not even out in the market yet," she said. Tsukushi watched Tsukasa's grateful face and her hands tightened on her bag. Was it good enough? Sure, she had spent five hours in the mall with Rui just searching for the gift, but was that enough to make it a great gift?  
  
Next was Rui. He gave Tsukasa an envelope. No one needed to look to know that it was a check. One point five million! No one in the room seemed overly surprised, so Tsukushi kept her shock to herself. 'Money comes so easily for them', she thought.  
  
Next was Tsubaki. She looked at her younger brother and gave him a small box.  
  
Tsukasa opened it, and held up car keys.  
  
"A new Mercedes," Tsubaki beamed. Tsukasa grinned. "Now that you're old enough, I guess you're going to need a new car," Tsubaki finished.  
  
Next was Akira. He handed over an envelope. There was a coupon inside.  
  
"You know my island in the east?" Akira said without pride. "Normally, no one is allowed there except family members and the servants, but with that coupon, everything is paid for, all the expenses, for two weeks. You can choose when you want to go there."  
  
Soujiro handed Tsukasa another envelope. "Here," he said to his friend. "I couldn't think of anything else, so I paid for your car insurance."  
  
By this time, Tsukushi had completely crumpled the wrapping paper of her gift, despite the vinyl bag she was using. All the other gifts that had been given had cost more than she could have ever dreamed to afford. All eyes turned to her expectantly. She was the last in the circle. Tsukushi felt herself withering.  
  
"Uhm," she said, stalling for time. "I...I sort of forgot to get a gift."  
  
Tsukasa frowned for the first time in entering the room. "What are you talking about?"  
  
"Uhm, I...Ah...I couldn't get you a gift. I'm sorry..."  
  
She looked up and barely saw Tsukasa's hurt expression. She was also busy looking at Rui, apologizing for dragging him around the mall when she wasn't going to give the gift anyway. Rui understood her look, but he said quietly:  
  
"Tsukushi, it's a great gift."  
  
"What?" Tsukasa said, having not heard what was said. Nobody in the circle bothered to repeat the phrase for him. Tsukushi straightened herself up, and then came to a decision. She reached into her bag and got out the crumpled gift. She hesitantly gave it to him. He received it without much expression.  
  
He held up the polo...And he looked at the brand: GAP. Tsukasa lost himself in his thoughts. He wondered what Tsukushi had to sacrifice to be able to afford something like this. For him, it was easy to come by that kind of money, but for someone like Tsukushi, it would be very hard, with her monthly allowance of three thousand yen.  
  
The whole group was waiting for his reaction, all of them breathless. Anyone could see Tsukushi's effort. Where all they had to do what cough up the money that they had aplenty, she had obviously needed to scrounge up enough money for the gift.  
  
"Here," Tsukasa said, pushing the gift back towards Tsukushi. "This is too much. You could have jut baked me something."  
  
"But...I...really wanted to try and get something to your level," Tsukushi said, her eyes completely hidden. Her smile was fixated in place.  
  
"You didn't need to," Soujiro said, quickly trying to make the most of the situation. "We know you're poor, so don't worry about it."  
  
Slowly, Tsukushi took the polo and stood up. Tsukasa stood up.  
  
"It's not that I don't like it-!" He started. Then he frowned. "Oh, just give it to me then!" He advanced towards her and grabbed it.  
  
She grabbed it back.  
  
"Doumyouji! It's okay! Don't bother yourself."  
  
She stalked out, closing the door softly behind her. Rui looked at Tsukasa.  
  
"She wanted so hard to please you," Rui said quietly. "The least you could have done was act happy about her gift."  
  
**~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~~*~*~**~**~~*~*~*~*  
  
"A POLO?!" Asai said scornfully as Tsukushi went out the main door. "A servant told me what you gave him."  
  
Tsukushi glared at Asai and tried to hurry past, but her two sidekicks blocked her way. Asai was frowning.  
  
"You know," Asai said. "I can't help but admit that maybe, just maybe, Tsukasa is getting attached to you. I want you to know..."  
  
She paused for effect. Tsukushi started to push past them.  
  
"...You can't compete with any of the people here. You're way too low class for Doumyouji."  
  
"My, my, are you saying that my son likes this Makino Tsukushi?" A rich, sugary thin voice wafted from over Asuhara's head. The three broke up, and let the woman in front of them take a look. That was how Tsukushi first met Kaede Doumyouji, the mother of Tsukasa. The thin woman looked at Tsukushi in distaste.  
  
"Why, but she's"  
  
"She's poor," Asai finished, a smirk on her face. "That much is clear, no matter what she wears."  
  
Kaede cackled. "That's not all," she said. "Not only that, but she's ugly!"  
  
Asai nodded her confirmation, completely sober. "That's right. And she has no body as well."  
  
Kaede sniffed the air. "Dear, that perfume irritates my nose. Please leave at once."  
  
Tsukushi gladly went past them, wanting to go to her apartment as soon as possible. Asai's voice, from behind her, piped up:  
  
"Hey, Makino! You're forgetting this. You dropped it."  
  
Tsukushi looked back, and saw that she had indeed dropped the polo she had bought with her savings. It was on the ground, and Asai was stepping on it with her high heels. Kaede bent a little to take a closer look.  
  
"What's that?" Kaede asked. Asai giggled.  
  
"It's the 'gift' she gave to your son," she said. Kaede shuddered.  
  
"Stay away from my son," Kaede said. "Wait until you grow richer."  
  
All of a sudden, she was tired of everything. Tsukushi was tired of being called poor, and of people looking down on her. She vaguely saw her stone washed jeans, and then she looked up to see Asai's extravagant dress. She spun around and ran.  
  
'I know it sucks,' she thought. 'But I don't know how to counter that.'  
  
She tripped over something, and fell facedown in the buffet table. Italian and Chinese cuisine flew in all directions. Tsukushi sat in the middle of the mess, covered in food, willing the nightmare to end. First there was a muffled laugh, and then the whole crowd was laughing. If it had been anyone else who had fallen, they wouldn't have thought of laughing. But this was only a poor girl Makino Tsukushi. Most of the guests didn't even know who she was.  
  
She got up and continued running. 


End file.
